A year and a half ago, PG&E declared bankruptcy due to almost countless billions of dollars in potential liability for killer wildfires caused by failures of its rural transmission lines during high winds — its second bankruptcy in two decades.
It’s now poised to emerge from bankruptcy, having settled wildfire claims with a mixture of money — borrowed money — and stock and agreed to enough managerial and operational reforms to satisfy the federal bankruptcy judge, politicians, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the Public Utilities Commission.
It was being widely discussed early in PG&E’s bankruptcy and into this year, but seemed to lose steam as COVID-19 and recession became the preoccupations of politicians and the public.
However, legislation that could convert PG&E into a non-profit, publicly owned corporation called Golden State Energy is on the verge of enactment.
If PG&E was neglecting the maintenance of its grid, allowing it to deteriorate and cause wildfires, where was the PUC?
