how stock should respond when company declares belly up (banktuptcy)

[Sig]

I be curious what maintenance was the issue. I’m an electrician, not a linesman but in my part of eastern Canada, our provincial utility company pretty much waits for poles to fall over before fixing whether it’s from trees falling or just old wood. I could drive down a lot of country roads and see questionable poles that should be fixed but it’s cheaper to wait until they actually fall.

Substations would have regular maintenance and other crucial parts.

I think it’s absurd to blame forest fires on a hydro company that’s operating in what basically seems like a giant pile of dry hay.

That's a luxury you have and California does not. You probably don't spend big bucks to bury your lines like they have in FL to avoid hurricane outages, that doesn't make the Florida utilities "absurd". Simply because it's a major undertaking for an electric company to take actions to attempt to eliminate fires that collectively kill hundreds of people and do billions in property damage doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. They do get rate recovery, after all, and even if you value human life at zero you could still collectively spend billions to avoid power distribution caused fires and come out net ahead.
BTW, no one outside of parts of Canada know wtf you're talking about when you refer to electric utilities as hydros. I just happen to work in that industry and have a Canada subsidiary so I'm familiar with the rather odd practice of generically referring to your electric distribution companues after a generating technology they may not even use!

 

[ggelitetrader000]

If we are uninsured where else can we get the money to rebuild? Not the city, nor the state since they have no money. And definitely not Trump, he hates California.

Besides, we love to blame all the deep pockets: Like robing banks, that is where the money is.

As an individual, you have less money in your pocket, which transcends into lesser ability to prove your innocence or blade bigger corporations fault therefore you are lesser human being, lesser worth, that is how it is in Corporate America.

 

[ironchef]

As an individual, you have less money in your pocket, which transcends into lesser ability to prove your innocence or blade bigger corporations fault therefore you are lesser human being, lesser worth, that is how it is in Corporate America.

Yes but...

Corporations are made up of people too. Like everything else, there are norm but some exceptions. Democracy is all about checks and balances. In the US, us little guys and gals do have a weapon: Class Action Lawsuit.

Another thing I learned (from my own experience) is our due process legal system is strong so things will eventually work out, more or less, for most.

 

[ironchef]

That's a luxury you have and California does not. You probably don't spend big bucks to bury your lines like they have in FL to avoid hurricane outages, that doesn't make the Florida utilities "absurd". Simply because it's a major undertaking for an electric company to take actions to attempt to eliminate fires that collectively kill hundreds of people and do billions in property damage doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. They do get rate recovery, after all, and even if you value human life at zero you could still collectively spend billions to avoid power distribution caused fires and come out net ahead.
BTW, no one outside of parts of Canada know wtf you're talking about when you refer to electric utilities as hydros. I just happen to work in that industry and have a Canada subsidiary so I'm familiar with the rather odd practice of generically referring to your electric distribution companues after a generating technology they may not even use!

The way things work in California is the rate payers ultimately decide whether/how to make the utility safe from fire: Many cities voted down the costs of burying electric utility lines underground because it costs too much. Even rich cities like Newport Beach and Laguna Beach refused to do it and increase assessment for residents.

Suing PG&E is like taxation: taxing everyone to help pay for the fire damage to a few. No question the rate will increase to pay for the lawsuits and costs of rebuild if PG&E ultimately is found guilty of negligent. This is done also because of deep pocket. I am quite sure if the fire started from my back yard, no one will sue me for damage because there is no way for lawyers who bring up class action to profit from suing me.