Alaska: Electric Utilities Wildfire Liability Immunity Bill Scheduled for Hearing

HB 227, an act relating to liability of an electric utility for contact between vegetation and the utility’s facilities, has been scheduled for an “invited-guests only” hearing on Jan. 23 before the House Energy Committee and then a public hearing in the same committee on Jan. 25. The bill sponsor is also chair of the special House Energy Committee, so the hearing could be quite challenging for the industry.

The legislation states, “utility offering electrical service to the public for compensation … may not be held liable for costs, property damage, death, or personal injury resulting from contact between vegetation and the utility’s facilities if the vegetation is located or originated outside the boundaries of the utility’s real property, lease, permit, easement, or right-of-way.”

NAMIC opposes legislation because it would create a moral hazard for citizens of the state by granting electrical utilities immunity for certain types of wildfires and would seriously impact an insurer’s ability to pursue legal subrogation against an at-fault electrical utility, whose negligence may be the direct and proximate cause of a wildfire that destroys private property.