"LOS ANGELES — Pacific Gas and Electric said on Monday that it would seek bankruptcy protection as “the only viable option” as the giant California utility faces billions of dollars in liability claims from two years of deadly wildfires.
The company’s troubles pose a challenge to the state’s elected officials and regulators, who will ultimately decide whether part of the solution will be raising already high electricity rates. The problems could also make it harder to achieve California’s ambitious goals for renewable energy.
Experts said PG&E’s predicament could be an early indicator of a wider economic toll from climate change, which is making wildfires more frequent and destructive. At the same time, the financial straits could handicap the utility’s ability to step up the kind of preventive measures it has been faulted for neglecting, like trimming trees and brush around power lines and transformers."
Ivan Penn, Thomas Fuller, and Lisa Friedman report for the New York Times January 14, 2019.
SEE ALSO:
"PG&E, Facing Vast Payout for Wildfires, Says It Will File for Bankruptcy" (KQED)
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