Facing soaring premiums and unable to find a suitable third-party insurance policy, NV Energy is now asking state energy regulators to approve a $500 million wildfire self-insurance policy to protect it in case its equipment sparks a blaze.
It is the first time the utility, Nevada’s largest electric utility, has ever made such a request. But it’s not the first time a Western electric utility has taken steps to self-insure amid struggles to find adequate wildfire insurance stemming from the growing size and severity of wildfires across the nation and successful lawsuits against utility companies for their role in sparking some of the blazes.
Between 2016 and 2020, it is estimated utility infrastructure caused nearly one-fifth of all wildfires . Major utilities found responsible for some of them, such as California’s PG&E, were forced to file for bankruptcy after being unable to pay for damages caused by the fires, an outcome NV Energy is looking to avoid…