California's For-Profit Utilities Bankroll "Wildfire Victims First" Front Group to Push Utility Bailout, Says Consumer Watchdog

California's For-Profit Utilities Bankroll "Wildfire Victims First" Front Group to Push Utility Bailout, Says Consumer Watchdog

PR Newswire

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 28, 2026

Consumer Watchdog analysis finds 66% of coalition organizations received utility money while utilities bankroll campaign to escape accountability for catastrophic wildfiresSACRAMENTO, Calif., July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog today released a new analysis exposing "Wildfire Victims First" as a utility-funded political front group created to manufacture support for a utility bailout that would weaken accountability when California's investor-owned utilities spark catastrophic wildfires.

The coalition claims to speak for wildfire victims. Its own disclosures tell a different story.According to the coalition's website, the campaign is paid for by Powering Progress, BRIDGE, the California Electric Utility Industry Labor-Management Cooperation Committee, and PG&E, SDG&E and Southern California Edison shareholders — entities that Consumer Watchdog found are either owned, controlled, or directly backed by California's three largest investor owned utilities, Sempra Energy (and its subsidiaries SoCalGas and San Diego Gas & Electric), Southern California Edison, and PG&E. "The utilities wrote the checks, gathered the names, and wrote the talking points. That's not a grassroots movement — it's a utility-funded echo chamber," said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog. "Shame on the utilities for stealing victims' identities to get bailed out of paying for burning down their communities."Cross-referencing the coalition roster published on the Wildfire Victims First website with California Public Utilities Commission General Order 77-M utility disclosure reports, Consumer Watchdog found that 142 of the coalition's 214 non-governmental organizations (66%) received a combined $7,303,249 in charitable contributions, sponsorships, memberships, grants, and other financial support from PG&E, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and SoCalGas between 2023 and 2025. The analysis excluded the coalition's 40 elected officials, whose campaign contributions and other political support are reported through separate disclosure systems.Payments to Wildfire Victims First Coalition Members by UtilityUtilityTotal PaymentsEdison$3,385,416PG&E$2,546,187SoCalGas$1,085,312SDG&E$286,334$7,303,249Wildfire Victims First Organizations Receiving Utility FundingConsumer Watchdog identified 142 organizations on the Wildfire Victims First coalition roster that received utility funding between 2023 and 2025, totaling more than $7.3 million. The largest 20 recipients include:California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce — $556,275Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation — $536,700Silicon Valley Leadership Group — $455,000Orange County Business Council — $372,345Bay Area Council — $365,000American Indian Chamber of Commerce — $287,000American Association of Blacks in Energy, California Chapter — $271,050Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce — $212,500Village Solutions Foundation — $159,500CalAsian Chamber of Commerce — $157,500Central Valley BizFed — $157,500California African American Chamber of Commerce — $156,500National Minority Supplier Development Council — $128,776San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership — $123,662California Contract Cities Association (CCA) — $120,000Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA) — $117,000California Manufacturers & Technology Association — $116,850Butte Environmental Council — $100,000Burn Institute of San Diego — $97,500Rather than emerging as an independent movement of wildfire survivors, the coalition is built largely from organizations with longstanding financial relationships with the utilities now seeking relief from wildfire liability.The analysis also documents how the utility-backed coalition launched a coordinated digital advertising campaign targeting key California lawmakers responsible for shaping wildfire, insurance, utility, and budget legislation, including legislative leaders and committee chairs negotiating the Legislature's wildfire package.LAWMAKERS TARGETED BY WILDFIRE VICTIMS FIRST ADS:Speaker Robert Rivas — Speaker of the California State Assembly.Senator Josh Becker — Chair, Senate Working Group on Wildfire Insurance and author of SB 254.Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris — Chair, Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee.Senator Ben Allen — Chair, Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee.Senator Sasha Renée Pérez — Chair, Senate Select Committee on Wildfire Recovery and member, Senate Insurance CommitteeSenator Henry Stern — Chair, Senate Natural Resources and Water CommitteeAssemblymember Jacqui Irwin — Member, Assembly Appropriations CommitteeAssemblymember John Harabedian — Member, Assembly Insurance CommitteeAssemblymember Pilar Schiavo — Member, Assembly Insurance CommitteeSenator Angelique Ashby — Member, Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications CommitteeSenator Christopher Cabaldon — Member, Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications CommitteeSenator Steve Padilla — Member, Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee"They're trying to manufacture the appearance of public support for a utility bailout," Balber said.Weakening California's wildfire accountability laws would ultimately shift more of the financial burden of catastrophic fires away from utility shareholders and onto wildfire survivors and all of us — while reducing incentives for utilities to invest in preventing future disasters."Accountability saves lives," Balber said. "When utilities know they'll bear the full cost of catastrophic negligence, they have reason to invest in preventing the next fire. A utility bailout erases the consequences when utilities fail to keep communities safe."Methodology: Consumer Watchdog reviewed California Public Utilities Commission General Order 77-M reports filed by PG&E, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and SoCalGas for calendar years 2023–2025, which disclose utility payments including charitable contributions, memberships, sponsorships, and other donations to outside organizations. The organization compared those disclosures against the publicly listed membership of the Wildfire Victims First coalition on July 27, 2026, removed elected officials from the analysis, and calculated total utility funding received by each coalition organization across the four investor-owned utilities. A complete list of coalition organizations receiving utility funding is available upon request. Consumer Watchdog's accompanying report.Read and sign the open letter from California wildfire survivors to Governor Newsom at DearNewsom.org.