Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
PG&E CEO Assures Utility's Safety Issues Are Being Fixed
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
February 26, 2020

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — PG&E Corp. CEO Bill Johnson blamed negligence by the company’s past management for a cascade of catastrophes that killed nearly 140 people as he tried to persuade California regulators Tuesday that he is steering the utility to make safety its top priority.

“The organization is safer today than it was a year ago. Things are getting better.” — PG&E Corp. CEO Bill Johnson
Johnson, who was brought in to lead the company 10 months ago, delivered his remarks as the first witness in critical California Public Utilities Commission hearings that will help shape Pacific Gas & Electric as it tries to emerge from its second bankruptcy in less than 20 years.
“The organization is safer today than it was a year ago. Things are getting better,” Johnson said in sworn testimony while being grilled by a lawyer for a consumer rights group, The Utility Reform Network.
Later in his testimony, Johnson boiled down his mission to a simple goal: “No more disasters, no more catastrophes, no more fatalities.”
But both Gov. Gavin Newsom and the head of the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&E’s chief regulator, have expressed serious doubts about whether the company has turned over a new leaf.

Demands for a Management Shakeup

Among other things, both Newsom and CPUC President Marybel Batjer have publicly demanded that PG&E replace its entire 14-member board, including Johnson, before it emerges from bankruptcy.
PG&E has promised to reshuffle its board, but hasn’t made any commitment to part ways with Johnson, who previously ran another major utility, the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The demands for a management shakeup are being made as PG&E scrambles to to meet a June 30 deadline to win approval of its plan to get out of bankruptcy. Facing more than in $50 billion in claimed losses from a series of deadly wildfires ignited by its outdated electrical equipment, the nation’s largest utility filed the case 13 months ago.
PG&E provides power to 16 million people — larger than the populations of all but a handful of states.
PG&E has agreed to settle claims with wildfire victims, insurers and a few government agencies for $25.5 billion to put it on track to win a federal judge’s approval of its bankruptcy blueprint. But the CPUC also must sign off on the plan to qualify for coverage from a state-created wildfire insurance fund.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

DON'T MISS

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

DON'T MISS

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

DON'T MISS

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

DON'T MISS

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

DON'T MISS

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

DON'T MISS

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

DON'T MISS

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

DON'T MISS

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

DON'T MISS

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

UP NEXT

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

UP NEXT

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

UP NEXT

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

UP NEXT

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

UP NEXT

Abundance Meets Resistance: Are CA Dems Finally Ready to Go All In on Building Housing?

UP NEXT

Less Than Half of Californians Think K-12 Schools Are on the Right Track: Poll

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

UP NEXT

Survey: Californians Blame Utility Company Spending, Profits for High Electricity Rates

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

13 hours ago

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

13 hours ago

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

14 hours ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

14 hours ago

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

15 hours ago

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

15 hours ago

Driving Near the Fresno Airport Next Week? Plan for Road Closures

15 hours ago

Misty Her: Push for Fresno Unified Turnaround Starts Now With ‘Boots on the Ground’

15 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 17 in Domestic Violence Crackdown

16 hours ago

What’s Next for Fresno Smoke Shop Ordinance: Lawsuit, Veto, Override?

16 hours ago

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

Virginia Giuffre, a former victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who said she was “passed around like a platter of fruit” as a te...

9 hours ago

Virginia Roberts Giuffre speaks to reporters in New York on Aug. 27, 2019. Giuffre, a former victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who said she was “passed around like a platter of fruit” as a teenager to rich and powerful predators, including Prince Andrew of Britain, died on Friday at her farm in Western Australia. She was 41. (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times)
9 hours ago

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

13 hours ago

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

13 hours ago

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

13 hours ago

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

Selma Mayor Scott Robertson (left) has been charged with misdemeanor electioneering for allegedly campaigning near voters at a polling place during the November 2024 election. (Facebook)
13 hours ago

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

14 hours ago

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

14 hours ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

15 hours ago

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend