Southern California Edison had recorded $1.8 billion in losses on Eaton Fire settlements as of September 30, 2026, according to Edison International’s third quarter SEC filing, reported by Utility Dive and TradingKey. Against those losses the filing records expected recoveries of $917 million from customer-funded self-insurance, $859 million from California’s Wildfire Fund and $70 million through FERC electric rates. Edison had received $207 million from the Wildfire Fund by quarter end. The company and SCE face about 2,000 lawsuits from roughly 38,000 plaintiffs over the January 2025 fire, and the company says it still cannot reasonably estimate the range of total losses.
Management used the October 29 earnings call to press for structural reform. Edison International and SCE president and CEO Pedro Pizarro said the company needs a long-term solution that “includes a clear and durable liquidity source for funding claims resolution, and a true shareholder liability cap that is not connected to the Wildfire Fund.” In September the California Legislature ended its session without advancing Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to limit utility liability, a setback that cut Edison’s stock by 23 percent at the time. Pizarro pointed to a November 15 constitutional deadline for a package this year and said that if the effort fails in 2026 it must continue with the new governor and legislature in 2027, with “dire and escalating impacts” in the meantime.
The financing cost of delay is quantified. Chief financial officer Aaron Moss estimated that currently elevated credit spreads could cost customers an incremental $300 million over the life of the bonds SCE expects to issue in 2027 alone. SCE’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program has extended more than 3,200 offers totaling about $1.1 billion, according to reporting of the call.
The capital program at risk is large. SCE forecasts investing $38 billion to $41 billion from 2026 to 2030, with about 22 percent each for load growth and electrification and for infrastructure replacement, 14 percent for maintenance and inspections and 12 percent for wildfire management. The company has hardened about 90 percent of its distribution system in high fire risk areas. Asked what happens without reform, Moss said spending would be prioritized toward safety, reliability and compliance, leaving less for load growth and clean energy. Third quarter core earnings were $738 million, or $1.92 per share, and the company reaffirmed full year 2026 core earnings guidance of $5.90 to $6.20 per share.