Actions taken — or not taken — over past decades by the California state legislature; its regulator, the Public Utilities Commission; and local communities have left investor-owned utilities operating under a flawed business model that led, at least in part, to PG&E Corp.'s recent bankruptcy and could cripple other IOUs, according to longtime analysts in the state. (S&P Global Platts)
Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. spent nearly $10 million on California lobbying efforts in the year before the utility giant declared bankruptcy, spending more than any other entity seeking to influence California government in 2018. The majority of that money was spent for lobbying on proposals involving wildfire safety and response, including whether to reduce the liability when equipment sparks fires. (Daily Herald)
Now under the management of a familiar federal bankruptcy court judge in San Francisco, PG&E is also being tracked by the California Public Utilities Commission, FERC and a federal judge overseeing the fallout of a 2010 natural gas pipeline rupture and explosion. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
Some 1,000 lawsuits have been filed since late 2017 demanding Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation pay for damages caused by wildfires. The lawsuits represent thousands of people, companies, cities and counties affected by fires. (Insurance Journal)
The scary word every Sacramento politician wants to avoid is “bailout” — as in bailing out unpopular Pacific Gas & Electric Co. It’s a dilemma because PG&E is universally, if quietly, seen as too big to fail. It’s too important and vital. It provides natural gas and electricity for 16 million people — 40% of the state — throughout northern and central California. (Los Angeles Times)
Northern California utility Pacific Gas & Electric said it won't award $130 million in employee bonuses because of its recent bankruptcy filing, a newspaper reported Saturday. Interim chief executive John Simon cited California's deadly wildfires and the company's precarious financial state in an internal email message to workers on Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. (Miami Herald)
The Californian power utility reportedly postponed its replacement of ageing infrastructure on the Caribou-Palermo line several times, after first proposing it in 2013. The century-old line, which never saw those upgrades, is suspected to have caused California's deadliest-ever wildfire. PG&E's shares fell almost 4% on the revelation. Wall Street Journal
Sacramento developer Phil Angelides served as state treasurer, ran for governor and jousted with titans of Wall Street over the cause of the 2008 financial meltdown. Now he’s part of a group backed by a dissident PG&E Corp. shareholder trying to seize control of the battered utility. Angelides was one of 13 candidates nominated for a board of directors’ seat Friday by BlueMountain Capital Management. (Sacramento Bee)
A U.S. judge overseeing a criminal case against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. called the California utility's efforts to prevent trees from hitting its power lines and starting wildfires "dismal" but scaled back his proposals to prevent its equipment from causing more blazes. Judge William Alsup said he's now considering making PG&E comply with targets in a wildfire mitigation plan that the company submitted. (Miami Herald)
A federal judge has ordered California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and the parent corporation to not pay shareholder dividends indefinitely as state authorities review the utility’s wildfire mitigation plan. The judge was critical of the vegetation management plans after reviewing the latest mitigation plan. (Natural Gas Intelligence)
