CA Current

A Senate panel backed a legislative resolution July 10 that calls on the California Public Utilities Commission to work to protect public and state interests in Pacific Gas & Electric’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. The move came just days after the utility began notifying creditors that the deadline for filing claims against it was approaching. […]

New amendments to AB 1054 this week would create a multi-billion dollar wildfire liability fund backed principally by ratepayer money, as pushed by the governor. The measure by Assembly Utilities & Energy Committee Chair Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) proposes a $10.5 billion revolving liquidity fund to cover private utility liabilities stemming from fires their equipment may […]

A group of Pacific Gas & Electric bondholders and unsecured creditors are pushing a $30 billion financial health plan for the bankrupt utility that would be backed principally by new equity. The plan filed by the Ad Hoc Committee of Unsecured Noteholders June 25 asked U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Dennis Montali to end ahead of […]

Pacific Gas & Electric will pay a total of $1 billion to 18 local agencies to resolve claims stemming from wildfires in 2015, 2017, and 2018 under a mediated settlement reached June 18. The agreement, which does not affect claims against PG&E filed by residents and businesses, must be approved by a federal bankruptcy court. […]

A House Energy panel zeros in on federal legislation and tactics to resolve the troubling issue of long-term storage of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. Lawmakers also grapple with how to consolidate onsite spent fuel in 121 communities, including in Southern California and Sacramento. The day before, another House Energy & Commerce subcommittee tells […]

A federal bankruptcy court judge ruled in Pacific Gas & Electric’s favor on who controls the more than $40 billion in PG&E’s renewable and gas power purchase agreements. Judge Dennis Montali held that his court, not federal energy regulators, has say over the multi-million dollar deals signed by PG&E. The utility is in the midst […]

This week is all about measures to reduce the impacts of utility-sparked wildfires in California. In the midst of all the smoke, CPUC president Mike Picker says he’ll soon retire. Earlier, he and other state energy regulators approve the investor-owned utilities’ 2019 plans to stem wildfire risks from their equipment. But, the CPUC notes, this is […]

The California Public Utilities Commission May 30 approved investor-owned utilities’ 2019 plans to stem wildfire risk under SB 901, as expected. “Approval of these plans is just a first step,” said Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen at the CPUC’s meeting this week. “We are learning as we go along,” added Commission President Mike Picker. The plans, said […]

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco May 22 approved a $105 million Pacific Gas & Electric assistance fund to support those displaced by the Northern California wildfires in 2017 and the 2018 Camp Fire. The fund is being authorized by the court after CalFire found earlier this month that the utility caused the Camp […]

It is better late than never for Southern California Edison, which finally gets its 2018-2020 rate case approved. State energy regulators okay a revenue requirement for 2018 of nearly $5.2 billion. Over the three-year period, Edison will reap a 4 percent increase, not counting recovery of its wildfire safety costs. Utility regulators this week also […]

If San Francisco replaced bankrupt Pacific Gas & Electric’s power delivery services and assets with its public utility, the city could reap considerable benefits. That is according to an explorative study by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission staff released May 13. “While any sort of acquisition of PG&E property would be a lengthy process, […]

PG&E’s first quarter earnings this year are far from rosy, but not as grim as expected. Earnings take an expected hit from wildfire, bankruptcy and safety expenses, which PG&E hopes to more than recoup from energy regulators and ultimately ratepayers. Southern California Edison’s parent earnings rise but that doesn’t stop its CEO from whining that […]

Pacific Gas & Electric Corp’s latest earnings show income that is one-third of what it reported a year earlier, falling to $136 million at the end of the first quarter of 2019, or 25 cents per share. That compares to $442 million in net income reaped a year earlier, or 86 cents a share. The […]

Pacific Gas & Electric is seeking an unprecedented increase in its rate of return that would raise its revenue requirement by $1.2 billion next year. In a filing to the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&E asked for a 56 percent boost in its return on equity, from the current 10. 25 percent rate to 16 […]

A state Senate committee April 24 voted to let the Turlock and Modesto Irrigation Districts meet their renewable portfolio standard requirements with power generated by the 203 MW Don Pedro Hydropower Project on the Tuolumne River. Today, power from such large dams is not considered eligible as a renewable resource. The panel also backed bills […]

The U.S. Trustee asked the court handling Pacific Gas & Electric’s bankruptcy proceeding to not allow the unsecured creditors’ committee to hire an investment banker because of potential conflicts of interest. In an April 15 filing, the U.S. Trustee warned the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California that Centerview Partners hides whether […]

The new chief executive officer of bankrupt Pacific Gas & Electric will receive $9 million his first year on the job at the troubled company. According to PG&E’s April 16 Securities & Exchange Commission filing, the base salary of Bill Johnson, former head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, is $2.5 million. He also is to […]

In spite of ongoing safety issues and problems at Pacific Gas & Electric, the company lacks a “comprehensive safety strategy,” the California Public Utilities Commission was told April 15. PG&E does not have “a coordinated safety strategy that takes a look at the whole,” said Angela Anderson, project manager for Northstar Consulting. The company has […]

Two days after announcing its new slate of directors in response to concerns about the direction of the company that entered bankruptcy protection because of huge wildfire liability claims, Pacific Gas & Electric’s board approved 10 new directors. Last week, PG&E also appointed as its chief executive officer and president, former head of the Tennessee […]

Bankrupt Pacific Gas & Electric announces a new slate of directors. The Tennessee Valley Authority’s former chief is named the new CEO, with final voting to take place at the end of May. California energy and waste regulators start to grapple with surging quantities of aging solar panels and batteries. Steps needed to avert a […]