Wildfires Are Raising Californians’ Utility Bills by Nearly 20%

The escalating cost of wildfires now adds $41 to the average monthly power bill for residential customers of California’s largest utility, according to a government report that calls for a systemic overhaul of how the state responds to conflagrations as climate change-driven disasters threaten its economy.

That surcharge accounts for 19% of the average Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. bill, and along with spiking homeowners’ insurance premiums, is another way Californians are paying the price for more destructive and frequent wildfires. Those impacts are lowering home values and local tax bases, and destabilizing mortgage and insurance markets, according to the ...