From The New York Times

If you’ve been following the saga of the state’s largest utility over the last few months — or even the last couple of years — then Monday’s news that Pacific Gas and Electric plans to file for bankruptcy protection might’ve felt like a long-anticipated endpoint.

PG&E has faced mounting scrutiny over the role its equipment has played in sparking some of the state’s deadliest and most destructive blazes, which has, in turn, sent its finances plummeting.

As my colleague Ivan Penn recently reported, the company has spent millions lobbying lawmakers to shield it from having to bear the cost of the fires — in part by arguing that if they didn’t, PG&E could face exactly the situation it finds itself in now. The company has said it faced an estimated $30 billion liability for damages from 2017 and 2018 wildfires.

But as Ivan, along with our colleagues Thomas Fuller and Lisa Friedman, wrote: A bankruptcy filing, which is expected on Jan. 29, is more like a beginning.

In the coming weeks, a slate of important questions will have to be answered by legislators and regulators, about what everything means for PG&E employees, and what will happen with the planned decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

The bankruptcy will also be an important early test for Gov. Gavin Newsom.

More broadly, PG&E’s situation could be a harbinger of the economic toll of climate change.

That all sounds like a lot, so I asked Ivan to boil it down for us:

What should consumers be looking out for next?

Even though PG&E is the largest utility in the state, it’s not the only one. What about Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric Company?

Ivan Penn: “The problem isn’t keeping the lights on at this point.”

He added that customers should be keeping the closest eye on which costs will be passed on to them as a result of any deals with the state or in the bankruptcy process.

As for the other investor-owned utilities, he said, they’re in significantly better shape.

Ivan: “Edison said it can meet its fire liabilities and SDG & E has not had major wildfire issues like its peers.”

 


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