Idaho Legislature: Ask Legislators to VOTE NO on S1183 - Wildfire standard of care (posted 03/21/25, reference updated 03/21/25)

• Bill: legislature.idaho.gov/s…

• Contact Legislators: Please use Idaho Legislature website to find contact info. Details here: tinyurl.com/2r4uuj32

(Check the linked page or use My Bill Tracker for the bill’s current status.)

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S1183 requires electric utilities to develop and implement comprehensive wildfire mitigation plans that are reviewed and approved by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. In return, electric companies are granted civil liability for damages and are allowed access to private lands for fire mitigation activities, with or without landowner approval.

Having a plan is an excellent idea, of course, and all utilities must have thorough, effective plans as part of their business responsibilities. However, if the plans fail, and utilities are found at fault for wildfires, the utilities should be responsible for paying valid civil damages due to harms or property loss. But S1183 grants liability protection to the electric corporation even if the plan doesn’t work or it isn’t followed. This liability protection is absolutely wrong. Granting liability protection disincentivizes harm prevention, as we’ve seen for decades with vaccines, cloud seeding, pesticides and more.

A stated goal of S1183 is to prevent wildfires from bankrupting utilities and driving their customers' monthly bills to crippling levels. We certainly do not want this to happen. But sponsors state these negative affects are partly due to courts holding utilities liable for wildfire damages, despite no finding of fault or causation. If courts are unjustly slapping damages on utilities, the courts, not liability protections, must be used to correct this injustice. Simply having a mitigation plan in place is not reason enough to grant liability protection.

Other negatives:

• S1183 requires additional costs and state personnel to review the plans.

• S1183 allows electric utilities to violate individual property rights if owners do not consent to having the electric corporation access the property. (Property owners MUST take responsibility for mitigation on their own properties. However, the electric corporation should not be allowed to violate the landowner’s property rights. Other remedies should exist – such as lawsuits against landowners – if owners do not properly mitigate fire risks on their property.)

Details:

• Mandates that electric corporations identify areas with heightened wildfire risks, outline preventative actions, conduct community outreach, coordinate with local officials, design power lines to minimize fire risk, monitor weather conditions, and establish inspection and vegetation management protocols.

• Creates a rebuttable presumption of non-negligence for electric corporations if they reasonably implement a commission-approved wildfire mitigation plan, effectively offering some liability protection.

• Requires electric utilities to submit annual reports detailing their compliance with these plans; plans must be reviewed and updated annually.

• Allows electric corporations limited access to rights-of-way for fire prevention activities if landowners do not provide access or respond to access requests. From the bill…

  • Electric corporation is authorized to access the property, easement, or right-of-way for the limited purposes of performing vegetation management, fire mitigation work in accordance with a commission-approved wildfire mitigation plan, or upgrading, inspecting, or repairing the electric corporation's assets, infrastructure, or facilities. In taking such actions, the electric corporation shall not be held liable in any civil action for claims or damages, except to the extent the electric corporation's conduct willfully or recklessly caused substantial damage to the property.

• S1183 is the primary civil remedy for wildfire-related damages against electric utilities.

• Fiscal Impact:

  • $187,400 ($182,800 ongoing and $4,600 one-time): Two new Full Time Positions (FTPs) to review twelve wildfire mitigation plans submitted by three investor-owned utilities and nine consumer-owned utilities.

  • Paid by Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Fund, which is funded by collections from regulated utilities and fees and assessments to participating non-regulated utilities.

  • No funds are allocated from the General Fund.

References:

• For the People, Not the Powerful. Protect Idaho, Not Corporations: The Fight Against S1183 and H303: tinyurl.com/yb7xanky

• New Report Blames The Forest Service, Not Power Company, For the Oregon Labor Day Fires.1,500 homes lost, 4 fatalities, and $100s millions in lawsuits now in question: