Pizarro

Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro on Tuesday spoke up for his utility’s need to call preventive power shutoffs and pushed back against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stinging criticism of those shutoffs, even as new wildfires were fanned by record high winds in Southern California.

Edison International’s (EIX) CEO is pushing back against state officials who want to penalize major power utilities after California regulators on Monday released proposed utility wildfire mitigation plan decisions that leave unsettled how multi-billion dollar liability costs may eventually be recovered.

Edison International (EI) and electric utility Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) last week said they face more than $4 billion in liabilities from the extensive 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California after taking a $1.8 billion charge during the fourth quarter.

Rosemead, CA-based Edison International (EI) CEO Ted Craver will retire Sept. 30, and the current head of its Southern California Edison Co. (SCE), Pedro Pizarro, will succeed him as CEO. EI independent director William Sullivan will become a non-executive chairman. In the interim, Pizarro will be president and a board member of EI, replacing Craver in the president’s role ahead of his retirement. A senior vice president at SCE, Kevin Payne, becomes president of the utility on Wednesday, replacing Pizarro. In addition, EI CFO Jim Scilacci will retire Sept. 30, replaced at that time as senior vice president and CFO by Maria Rigatti, the current SCE CFO. Current SCE Vice President and Treasurer William Petmecky will succeed Rigatti as the utility CFO at that time.