Am I the only one that doesn't think the power company is at fault here? Maybe its because I get power outages regularly, and have taken the precautionary steps to avoid a flood. In my opinion them offering $500 was actually fairly generous because they are not at fault (in my opinion) because your system is designed to fail.
I am not trying to sound like a jerk and I am sorry for your loss. But trying to go after them because they had to turn off the power is a joke. they will turn your power off if you dont pay your bill of $100 would that make them liable if that is the reason your tank flooded? or if someone hit a power box with their car, and knocked the power out, would that make the power company liable?
Its like trying to go after the DWR because you got attacked by a bear in the woods because they didnt tell you bears were there....
Again I am sorry for your loss but I really dont think the power company is at fault here and you should have taken the $500.