The proposed payment would be used to assess and replace overburdened power poles in Malibu Canyon and fund a statewide survey of telephone poles owned by Southern California Edison to measure the extent of pole overloading across California.
By Knowles Adkisson / Associate Editor
Three cell phone companies have agreed to pay $12 million in civil penalties for their role in overloading telephone poles that blew over and caused the 2007 Malibu Canyon fire, according to court documents released last Friday. Prosecutors from the California Public Utilities Commission agreed to the offer Jan. 29, weeks before a March trial in which the companies faced potential penalties of nearly $25 million.
Part of the proposed payments of $4 million each from Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless would fund an examination of each telephone pole along the 3.3 miles of Malibu Canyon Road to determine the extent of pole overloading and termite damage in the poles, then replace poles that do not meet safety standards. The money would also fund an independent survey of Southern California Edison poles across California that carry heavy telecommunications equipment.
Edison and a fourth cell phone company implicated in the fire, NextG Networks, are not part of the proposed settlement. The two companies face up to $74 million in fines proposed by the PUC’s consumer protection division, including $49 million for Edison for overloading the poles, then allegedly destroying evidence and lying to state investigators about it.
The Oct. 21, 2007 fire began when three power poles owned by Edison snapped in high winds, causing live electrical wires to ignite nearby brush. The blaze swept down Malibu Canyon, destroying 14 structures and 36 vehicles and causing central Malibu to be evacuated for three days.
The poles that fell in the 2007 fire were erected 50 years earlier in 1957 by Edison, which in past years sold ownership shares in the poles to Sprint, NextG, AT&T and Verizon Wireless in order to carry their cell cables and antennae. A state investigation into the fire later found that at least one of the failed poles was overloaded with heavy telecommunications equipment and had extensive termite damage.
Edison has argued the winds were so high that any pole could have been broken by them, and said the poles may not have been overloaded.
The proposed $12 million settlement must be approved by a judge in San Francisco. It does not affect pending lawsuits against Edison and the cell phone companies from residents and businesses who suffered property damage in the fire. Edison and NextG face a trial beginning March 5 for their roles in the fire.
Under the agreement, PUC prosecutors propose that $5.9 million of the payment go to a special fund. The money would pay for the statewide survey of Edison poles, as well as the examination and replacement of Edison poles along Malibu Canyon Road. The poles will be tested for overloading and for termite damage.
The remaining $6.1 million of the payment would go to the State of California General Fund. The Malibu City Council has reportedly been contacted about the payment and is expected to offer an opinion to state investigators on the use of the settlement funds.