Southern California Edison has compensated only 82 victims of the Eaton fire The electric company responsible for the Eaton fire has compensated 82 victims two months after the program began

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After just over two months, Southern California Edison was able to get more than 1,800 customers into a compensation program aimed at resolving multiple lawsuits against the company over the deadly Eaton fire. As of Monday, the company had made offers to 82 of the applicants, Edison told CalMatters.

Edison spokeswoman Kathleen Dunleavy said the pace of processing applications is ahead of schedule.

Fire survivors who provided feedback to Edison even before the settlement program began still have strong criticism of the utility’s compensation program, called the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program. They complain that this program requires participants to drop lawsuits against the company and prevents them from seeking additional compensation for fire-related health claims. Many argued that the program’s payment limits, which limit the amount applicants can receive, were too low and allowed Edison to pay less than the utility could owe if found responsible for the fire.

The Eaton Fire burned 14,000 acres in Los Angeles County in January, killing 19 people. While the official cause has yet to be determined, the prevailing theory is that Edison’s equipment caused the fire. he The US Department of Justice is among them They blamed the electric company for the fire.

Insurance money and personal savings are drying up for those who lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones in the fire, survivors and activists say. Many are homeless or face housing insecurity. survey

estimated that 80% of Altadena residents were still displaced by the fire in October. The Eaton Fire Survivors Network prominent grassroots organization Edison asked it would provide up to $200,000 per displaced household, “on a means-tested basis,” to cover housing costs.

“It’s Edison’s responsibility to figure this all out,” said Joy Chen, the group’s executive director. “It’s your responsibility.”

while An estimated $7.6 billion in insurance claims related to the Eaton fire had been paid through November, according to the most recent data available from the California Department of Insurance. Approximately 90% of the payment is for residential properties.

Edison offered a total of $34.4 million to settle 82 claims, and none of the offers were rejected, he said.

In an interview with CalMatters, Pedro Pizarro, CEO of Edison International, said that about half of the claims that received a quote from Edison through December were for total losses and about half were for smoke and ash damage. Although he did not provide specific numbers, Pizarro said the claims are distributed by geography, income levels and home values. Many of the claims that received offers are part of the program’s fast-track option.

At a press conference held on December 16 by the Survivors Network, displaced residents spoke about how housing instability and the loss of their homes has affected their lives. Gabriel Gonzalez, a plumbing company owner, lost his home, business and about $80,000 worth of tools in the fire. He lived in his car for a long time before receiving a small grant that allowed him to live in a rental for a few months. But that money is expected to run out this month.

“From January 1, I’ll probably be back in my car,” he said at the event.

Pizarro informed CalMatters that Edison will not provide funds to residents for housing outside of its offset program, citing the need for cost validation. The Survivors Network’s request for housing assistance was limited to verifiable expenses.

One criticism of the program was that children did not receive the same compensation as adults. Under the current version of the program, children receive between 50% and 65% of the compensation that adults receive for the loss of a home, depending on the category of damage. If their primary home is destroyed, adults will receive $115,000 and children $75,000. Those rates are slightly higher than the draft plan Edison released in the fall.

An open letter from the Eaton Fire Survivors Network at the time said that giving children a lower rating than adults “treats their suffering as less when in reality it is greater”.

Pizarro said Edison chose the lower rating because children often do not receive as much as adults in similar programs and adults “end up taking on more responsibility and more expenses” for the home and “arrangements for the children.”

“The reality is that seniors carry a lot more weight here,” he said, “and so it’s only fair that we have more senior-oriented compensation.”

Another frustration expressed by those affected by the fire was the demand that participants waive their right to sue the company. Lawyers for fire survivors who sued the company warned that the Edison settlement program could deprive people of any damages a court may award, as well as potential compensation or long-term medical monitoring.

“We’re approaching this as a way to resolve litigation,” Pizarro said. “It’s a form of legal agreement, and legal agreements are usually agreements that resolve all issues, otherwise they’re not really a conclusion to the litigation.”