Judge Expected to Approve PG&E Plan to Resolve Bankruptcy

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state regulators have signed off on the company’s reorganization plan, a prerequisite for the company’s participation in the fund. Access to the fund will give investors some confidence in PGE’s ability to withstand multibillion-dollar damage claims in the future.

In negotiations with PGE, Mr. Newsom got executives to agree that the state could take it over if the utility failed to fulfill its obligations under the bankruptcy plan. The company recently appointed a new interim chief executive and overhauled its board to satisfy the governor.

On Tuesday, PGE pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for starting the Camp Fire. The company and the district attorney of Butte County agreed that PGE will pay a $3.5 million penalty and give the county $500,000 to cover its investigation. A state judge approved that agreement on Thursday after hearing from people who lost loved ones in the fire.

PGE’s guilty plea could influence a federal judge overseeing PGE’s probation arising from its felony convictions in a 2010 gas pipeline explosion near San Francisco. That judge, William H. Alsup, has the power to impose new penalties on the company for violating its probation.

Separately, the California Public Utilities Commission has levied a nearly $2 billion penalty against PGE for defective maintenance and needless deaths from wildfires in 2017 and 2018.

The company’s critics say PGE and its shareholders have gotten away with a relatively light punishment from regulators, lawmakers and the courts given the deaths and destruction the utility has caused.

Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network, which represents consumers, said policymakers ought to come down hard on the company if its equipment is again implicated in wildfires and other disasters.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/business/energy-environment/pge-bankruptcy-court-approval.html