New coalition challenges utilities decision to pretend to be the people they’ve harmed
Sacramento, CA — In response to PG&E’s latest entry into what critics call “reality-reversal branding,” Consumer Watchdog and a group of real wildfire survivors today announced the launch of “Utilities Shareholders First,” a coalition dedicated to exposing what it called the latest public relations stunt from Pacific Gas & Electric and its allies.
The new group comes in response to the launch of “Wildfire Victims First,” a coalition backed by PG&E, SDG&E, and SCE shareholders that claims to advocate for wildfire survivors while promoting policies that would make it harder to hold utilities accountable for the destruction they cause.
“For PG&E to back a group called Wildfire Victims First is like a wolf launching a Sheep Safety Initiative,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. “It’s like an April Fools joke, but the rights PG&E wants to take away from wildfire survivors to hold the utilities accountable is no joke.”
“That’s a clever rebrand,” said Joy Chen, Executive Director of the Every Fire Survivors Network. “Step one: cause catastrophic wildfires. Step two: complain that victims take too long to get compensated. Step three: rewrite the rules so you pay less when you do.”
Consumer advocates noted that California’s legal framework — including long-standing liability standards — is often the only meaningful mechanism forcing utilities to invest in safety and compensate victims fully.
“Utilities don’t want faster recovery. They want cheaper accountability,” Court said. “And now they’ve launched a coalition with a name so misleading it belongs in a dystopian novel.”
The “Utilities Shareholders First” coalition says it will continue to call out efforts to weaken consumer protections, no matter how they’re packaged.
