Thursday, March 19, 2026

Edison CEO’s Pay Rose 20% After Eaton Fire; Pasadena Legislator Vows Action

Pedro Pizarro [photo credit: Southern California Edison]

Assemblymember Harabedian says fire survivors should not subsidize executive compensation as state report nears April deadline

After it was reported that Edison International gave its chief executive a raise in 2025, Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena), who represents the fire-devastated 41st Assembly District, said the disparity between Edison’s financial performance and his constituents’ ongoing struggles demands legislative action. He pointed to a state report on the California Wildfire Fund, due to the Legislature by April 1, as the vehicle for change.

“My constituents are fighting every day just to stay off the street as they try to put their lives back together from the damage Edison’s equipment likely caused,” Harabedian said in a statement issued Wednesday.

The statement came one day after the Los Angeles Times reported on Edison’s executive compensation, drawn from a new SEC proxy filing. The filing showed that Edison International’s net income surged to $4.5 billion in 2025, up from $1.3 billion the prior year — a gain of more than 200% in the company’s GAAP earnings. A significant portion of that increase came from one-time items, including cost recoveries from prior wildfire settlements. Edison’s core earnings, which strip out such items, rose about 33%, from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion.

Edison tied most of its executive compensation to the company’s financial results rather than safety metrics, according to the filing.

The company’s board did cut cash bonuses for Pizarro and two other senior executives by approximately 40% because of the January 2025 wildfires, reducing Pizarro’s cash bonus alone by more than $1 million. But the cuts were dwarfed by gains in stock awards and other compensation linked to the company’s soaring profits.

Steven Powell, president of Southern California Edison, saw his total compensation rise to $6.5 million from $3.9 million the prior year, an increase of more than 65%, the filing showed. Six senior executives collectively lost an estimated $2 million in bonuses, a figure the company characterized as a 40% reduction that “was not a reflection of the performance of the company or these executives.”

Edison has acknowledged that its equipment most likely started the Eaton Fire, though the official cause remains under investigation by state and county authorities. The leading theory involves a century-old transmission line in Eaton Canyon that had been dormant for decades and may have briefly reenergized during fierce Santa Ana winds on January 7, 2025. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office is conducting a criminal investigation into the utility’s actions before the fire.

“Our deepest sympathies remain with all those affected, and this loss reinforces our commitment to public safety and wildfire risk mitigation,” Pizarro and board chairman Peter Taylor wrote in a letter to shareholders that accompanied the compensation disclosure.

The utility has created a voluntary Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program for fire victims. As of March 4, the program had received more than 2,500 claims, extended nearly 600 offers totaling $185 million, and paid $31 million to 212 claimants, according to the proxy filing. The program requires participants to waive their right to sue Edison.

Harabedian said he plans to pursue reforms tied to a report required under Senate Bill 254, which the California Earthquake Authority, as administrator of the state’s Wildfire Fund, must deliver to the Legislature and Governor by April 1. That report will recommend new approaches for allocating the costs of wildfire damage across utilities, ratepayers, insurers and other stakeholders.

“I look forward to the release of new recommendations relating to the Wildfire Fund in the coming weeks and taking action based on those recommendations to ensure that fire survivors and other ratepayers are not on the hook while company executives and shareholders take in more and more profits for themselves,” Harabedian said.

The Wildfire Fund, created by Assembly Bill 1054 in 2019, was designed in part to promote utility safety, including provisions that executive compensation structures be tied to safety performance as a condition of accessing the fund’s protections. Edison expects the fund to cover most Eaton Fire claim payments.

Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, has criticized the existing framework. In a communication to state wildfire fund administrators, she wrote that the consequences of protecting executives from their negligence are “not theoretical” but “observable.”

Edison faces hundreds of lawsuits from fire victims. The first trials are scheduled for January 2027. The company has also filed cross-complaints against Los Angeles County, Pasadena Water and Power, and other agencies, alleging they contributed to the fire’s severity.

Harabedian has been active on Eaton Fire recovery legislation since taking office, authoring bills on mortgage forbearance, disaster housing, community stabilization, and post-fire contamination testing. He also initiated a State Auditor investigation into emergency response to both the Eaton and Palisades fires.

The Eaton Fire burned more than 14,000 acres and left thousands of families homeless, making it the second most destructive wildfire in California history. More than a year later, much of Altadena remains dotted with cleared lots where homes once stood.

Edison International declared a 6% dividend increase in December 2025 — its 22nd consecutive annual increase — bringing the annual rate to $3.51 per share. The company’s stock price has risen past its pre-fire level, topping $75 in late February.

Pizarro told analysts the company is confident it acted reasonably before the fire. “We continue to be confident that SCE will be able to make a good faith showing that its actions were those of a reasonable utility operator,” he said during a February earnings call.

For Harabedian, the numbers tell a different story — one his constituents have been living for more than a year. The SB 254 report lands on the Legislature’s desk in less than two weeks.