SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. sought a judge's approval to pay $235 million in bonuses to thousands of employees despite the California utility's bankruptcy. The money is intended to provide incentives to workers and will not be distributed if the company doesn't meet safety and financial goals,...
PG&E Vows to Improve Wildfire Prevention
SAN FRANCISCO — Up to 5 million California customers could temporarily lose power this year in the name of wildfire prevention if regulators approve Pacific Gas & Electric's $2.3 billion safety proposal submitted Wednesday. PG&E unveiled the preventive blackout strategy for the first time late last year, getting regulatory permission...
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 Files for Bankruptcy Amid Wildfire Lawsuits
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric Corp., the nation's biggest utility, filed for bankruptcy reorganization Tuesday in a bid to relieve itself of some of the billions of dollars in damages it could face as a result of California's devastating wildfires. The Chapter 11 filing allows PG&E to continue...
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...
CalFire: Homeowner Equipment Caused Deadly Blaze
SACRAMENTO — In a long-awaited report, state investigators said Thursday that a 2017 wildfire that killed 22 people in Northern California wine country was caused by a private electrical system, not equipment of embattled Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The state's firefighting agency concluded that the fire started next to...
Will PG&E Customers Pay More in Bankruptcy? Not if Watchdog Can Stop It
The consumer watchdog arm of the California Public Utilities Commission says millions of Pacific Gas & Electric customers should not have to bear the brunt of the utility’s misdeeds if it was responsible for two of the most destructive wildfires in California. “We should definitely not assume that because PG&E...
Newsom Vows Energy Will Flow Despite PG&E Bankruptcy
SAN FRANCISCO — The nation's largest utility said Monday it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because it faces at least $30 billion in potential damages from lawsuits over the catastrophic wildfires in California in 2017 and 2018 that killed scores of people and destroyed thousands of homes. The move...
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...
PG&E Credit Rating Slashed to Junk Status by S&P
NEW YORK — S&P slashed PG&E's credit rating to junk status as the utility grapples with the political and financial fallout from costly and deadly wildfires in California. The ratings agency cut the company's key rate five notches to "B'' from "BBB-." Shares have been weighed down since November and...