SANTA ROSA — Frustration and anger mounted across Northern California as Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. began another round of fire-prevention blackouts Tuesday that could leave millions of people without electricity, some for five days or longer. The shut-offs, aimed at keeping windblown electrical equipment from sparking wildfires, came as...
Fire Erupts as Californians Hit With 2nd Round of Blackouts
GEYSERVILLE — A Northern California wildfire exploded in size early Thursday amid dangerous winds that prompted PG&E to impose electrical blackouts to prevent fires. Authorities ordered the entire community of Geyserville to evacuate after the fire in the Sonoma County wine region north of San Francisco grew to more than...
Power Outages Begin in California Amid Hot, Windy Weather
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric shut off power to more than a million people Wednesday for what could be days on end, in the most sweeping effort in state history to prevent wildfires caused by windblown power lines. The move came after two years of catastrophic fires sent...
Report: PG&E Ignored Repairs on Aging Power Lines
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric, which is blamed for some of California's deadliest recent fires, knew for years that dozens of its aging power lines posed a wildfire threat but avoided replacing or repairing them, it was reported Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal, using company documents obtained under the federal...
Gov. Newsom Criticizes PG&E’s Plan for New Board
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. plans to remake its board of directors with hedge fund financiers and people who have little experience in utility operations and safety, and he urged the utility's leader to change course. "With this move, PG&E would...
Judge: PG&E Put Profits Over Wildfire Safety
SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. judge berated Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. on Wednesday, accusing the nation's largest utility of enriching shareholders instead of clearing trees that can fall on its power lines and start fires and making "excuses" to avoid turning off electricity when fire risk is high. Judge...
PG&E: Judge’s Proposals for Fire Risk Could Cost up to $150B
SAN FRANCISCO — Proposals by a U.S. judge to prevent Pacific Gas & Electric Co. equipment from causing more wildfires would endanger lives, could cost as much as $150 billion and would interfere with the work of federal and state regulators, the utility said Wednesday in a court filing urging...
PG&E, Facing Colossal Liability, Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
Pacific Gas and Electric said it plans to file for bankruptcy protection amid potentially massive liabilities resulting from the deadly California wildfires. The announcement Monday follows the resignation of the power company's chief executive Geisha Williams a day earlier. John Simon, the company' general counsel since 2017, will serve as...
Walters: Rethinking California's Electric Utilities
California’s two major electric power utilities are on the hot seat as Capitol politicians ponder whether they should be protected from the financial consequences of last month’s killer wildfires. Downed power lines owned by Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison are suspected of sparking the fires that killed...
California's Priorities Questioned As Deadly Fires Explode
The Wall Street Journal wrote in an editorial published Aug. 7 that liberals exploiting natural disasters such as drought, hurricane, and blizzards to promote their anti-fossil fuels agenda is no secret. Yet, these same liberals are outraged that Trump is daring to fight fire with fire by making a connection...