Senator Pérez calls on Edison to provide urgent housing relief without requiring Eaton Fire survivors to waive legal rights
SACRAMENTO – Senator Sasha Renée Pérez and Eaton Fire survivors and advocates are calling on Southern California Edison’s parent company, Edison International, to allocate $2.4 billion dollars to provide immediate housing assistance to fire victims who are still displaced and struggling to stabilize their lives following the devasting January 2025 wildfire.
Additionally, Senator Pérez expressed concern about the utility tying assistance for impacted and displaced fire victims to the signing of a legal document waiving future legal rights.
In a letter addressed to Edison International CEO Pedro J. Pizarro, Senator Pérez wrote:
“Families are facing severe housing insecurity as insurance coverage expires. A new Department of Angels survey paints a stark picture: eight out of ten Eaton Fire survivors remain displaced, trapped in a growing financial and emotional crisis. Edison has both the means and the responsibility to act now, to stabilize families, prevent mass displacement, and restart the Eaton Fire recovery.”
“Emergency housing relief must be kept entirely separate from any settlement process. Survivors cannot make informed or fair decisions while living in unstable conditions. Requiring legal waivers in exchange for housing assistance forces families into decisions made under duress, undermining both fairness and public trust.”
Precedent exists for using similar mechanisms to protect survivors. Investor-owned utilities PG&E and SDG&E have provided voluntary, pre-settlement relief to stabilize communities following major wildfires.
Investigations into the cause of the Eaton Fire are ongoing, but Edison executives have acknowledged that an idle, unconnected transmission line, inactive for 56 years, may have started the Eaton Fire.
“Having acknowledged its potential role in starting the Eaton Fire, Edison must do everything withing its power to prioritize the needs of survivors and make this commitment a core part of its corporate duty. This means ensuring fire victims can recover and rebuild their lives with the support they are owed,” said Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena).
“True accountability for Edison means making sure that families whose homes it contaminated and burned down are safely housed until we can get back home. As things currently stand, more than half will lose housing coverage within months, forcing families to cut back on food, medicine, and mental health care just to stay afloat. We’re grateful to Senator Pérez for leading the fight to keep our families housed this winter,” said Joy Chen, Executive Director, Eaton Fire Survivors Network (EFSN). To see a report by EFSN titled, "How Edison Can Launch Urgent Housing Relief to Keep Families Housed, click here.
This legislative session, Senator Pérez successfully authored legislation that was signed into law to help Eaton Fire survivors and aid in wildfire recovery and to make California more resilient to future natural disasters.
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Senator Sasha Renée Pérez is Chair of the Senate Education Committee and represents the 25th Senate District that includes the communities of Glendale, Pasadena, Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Claremont, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta-Montrose, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Temple City, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, and San Antonio Heights.