No clear path for California as massive PG & E tools approaching bankruptcy
SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – The PG & E Corps announcement that it will lead to bankruptcy, citing massive potential damages from lethal fire, contravenes California politicians, either offering a search or risk causing the state's largest private tools may fail.
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG & E) trucks are parked on a road between homes destroyed by Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, California, USA October 11, 2017. Photo taken October 11, 2017. REUTERS / Stephen Lam [19659003] Gouverneur Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, told reporters late on Monday his team discussed the possibility of helping PG & E ( PCG.N ) remain solvent, but no decisions were made.
And lawmakers in the state legislature who last year approved a bill that makes it easier for PG and E to count interest payers on the cost of fire extinguishing triggered by the equipment in 2017, said there was less support this year to extend further financial assistance to the company .
"We would like to see it (bankrupt) avoided, but we are not naive," Newsom said. "I'm familiar with taxpayers, and I'm familiar with taxpayers, and I'm fully acquainted with those who lost everything."
PG & E is announcing Monday that it intends to submit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as early as this month, referring to potential liability of over $ 30 billion due to fire damage, came one day after its CEO, Geisha Williams was banned from her position [nL3N1ZE3BV].
PG & E, which stands as the largest US power tool by number of customers, delivers electricity to 40 percent of California. The state, Newsom said, is determined to keep the service up and running with these customers.
But the power tool of the tool has been linked to the ignition of more than a dozen wildfires over the past two years, and is a suspected cause of the deadliest fire in state history, swept through Paradise in November, killing 86 people and destroying 90 percent of homes and businesses there.
Mark Toney, Executive Vice President of Consumer Enterprise Utility Reform Network, said the atmosphere had cooled significantly against PG & E over the past few months, which made a politically difficult rescue for legislators.
"PG & E will have a much harder time because it doesn't look like they have learned any lessons," Toney said.
MIXED SIGNALS
The lawyer and governor could decide to allow PG & E to pass the costs associated with rape cases and other taxpayers to taxpayers as they did last year for a series of deadly northern California blazes in 2017.
One such legislation will also allow the utilities to shift some future fire-related costs to consumers as long as regulators do not find any negligence on the companies' side.
But state legislators have given mixed signals of what they can do with responsibilities due to the lethal Camp Fire in November 2018 that burned most of Paradise.
Lawmakers representing areas destroyed by fire birds have opposed some bailout for PG & E and say investors should absorb the costs – even if it means the company is bankrupt.
PG & E's security record has been scrutinized before.
State Secretary Jerry Hill, where the district holds the site of the lethal 2010 San Bruno throttle explosion, which is destined to be caused by PG & E's criminal negligence, said support for the tool was softer this year.
"I think there is less chance, less thought of a rescue this year than we saw last year, absolutely," said Hill, who has the names of the nine people killed in the San Bruno blast framed in his office.
Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California. Editing by Steve Gorman and Clarence Fernandez
