the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Oct 27, 2025
Southern California Edison is facing hundreds of lawsuits for January’s Eaton fire near Los Angeles, which destroyed 9,400 buildings and killed at least 19 people. Surveillance videos show that the fire started under an Edison power line, and even though the official investigation is not complete, Edison has already been offering settlements to fire victims.
Experts say the cost of insured losses alone in the Eaton fire could reach 23 billion dollars, without taking into account damages to uninsured or underinsured residents, or awards for pain and suffering. But California Democrats, who control the state’s legislature, came to Edison’s rescue. They added an amendment to a bill, SB 254, allowing Edison to increase rates. This amounts to a huge gift worth billions of dollars—to be paid for by Edison customers, including the fire victims.
Another amendment to SB 254 extends California’s 21-billion-dollar wildfire fund, which is paid for by taxpayers and ratepayers. Back in July, California governor Gavin Newsom had already said that he was looking to add 18 billion dollars to the wildfire fund, and Edison had broken the good news to its shareholders: that it expected to be reimbursed by the state for most, if not all, of the costs for the Eaton fire.
All this means that California’s three big private utilities will continue to get bailed out for future fires they cause. Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric are by far the biggest causes of wildfires in the state. These three companies have caused more than 3,600 wildfires since 1992, and their record has been worsening in recent years. And the California politicians have kept bailing out the utilities.
These companies’ equipment keeps starting wildfires because the companies have been cutting back on the maintenance and upgrading of their power lines. This policy of willful, in fact, criminal negligence has translated into billions of dollars of extra profit for these companies’ big shareholders. And California politicians continue to help them to amass this blood money from the loss of tens of thousands of homes and hundreds of lives.