PG&E Files For Bankruptcy; Along With Fire Liabilities, Faces Poss. Violation Of Criminal Probation
Pacific Gas and Electric said it plans to file for bankruptcy protection amid potentially vast liabilities resulting from the deadly California wildfires. The announcement Monday, in the form of a filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, follows the resignation of the utility's chief executive, Geisha Williams, a day earlier. John Simon, the company's general counsel since 2017, will serve as interim chief executive.
Officials are investigating whether the utility's equipment sparked the Camp Fire in November, a blaze that killed 86 people and destroyed nearly 14,000 homes. In addition, Cal Fire investigators have ruled that PG&E equipment was involved in at least 18 of the more than 170 fires that swept Northern California in October 2017. The agency found that the company may have broken state law in 11 of those incidents and referred the cases for possible prosecution.
The utility says it is facing at least $30 billion in potential liabilities from the wildfires in 2017 and 2018. Those liability payouts could be delayed or reduced by a bankruptcy filing.
Among other uncertainties facing the company, PG&E said in Monday's SEC filing that it could be found in violation of its criminal probation imposed after a 2016 conviction for breaking federal pipeline safety laws. That case arose from the 2010 San Bruno natural gas pipeline blast, which killed eight people and devastated a neighborhood in the Peninsula suburb.
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https://www.kqed.org/news/11717965/pge-announces-plans-for-bankruptcy-protection
