California regulators have proposed conditions for Pacific Gas & Electric to win state approval to exit bankruptcy and access a state wildfire insurance fund seen as critical for its future financial stability. Among those demands: PG&E must subject itself to enhanced oversight over safety improvements, or face possible state takeover if it fails to prevent future deadly wildfires.
Monday’s proposed decision from the California Public Utilities Commission sets the terms for one of the last hurdles for PG&E to clear as it seeks to emerge from its Jan. 2019 bankruptcy, brought about by billions of dollars in damages from wildfires caused by its equipment in 2017 and 2018. The CPUC has the authority to deny a PG&E bankruptcy reorganization plan that fails to protect the public interest.
