PG&E now accepts responsibility for the Camp Fire. PG&E says that it wants to pay claimants for what they’ve been through, and that it wants to set aside $14 billion for that purpose. But here’s the catch: in order to be paid, victims must file papers with the bankruptcy court by October 21. If you
PG&E Chief Can’t Explain Why PG&E Paid $2.5 million Bonus to Fired CEO But Stiffed Butte Victims
PG&E Chief Financial Officer Jason Wells appeared in Bankruptcy Court to answer questions under oath. It was his second time. The first time, I asked him about the bonus PG&E paid to CEO Geisha Williams as she was shown
PG&E Raises Rates On Victims
Having paid to shareholders money it was supposed to use on wildfire remediation and prevention, PG&E now says it can’t get the work done unless it raises rates. The CPUC is going to let them.
Judge Orders Convicted Felon PG&E To Comply With Tree Trimming Laws
PG&E argued it couldn’t comply with the laws because there were just too many trees, too close to its wires. The judge replied, “That’s a problem of your own making.”
PG&E’s New CEO William Johnson Is All About Profits
Scott Deveau and Mark Chediak of Bloomberg report that PG&E is likely to sign Bill Johnson as its new CEO. Bill Johnson was most recently CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the large southeastern public utility. Critics are glad Johnson is now gone from the TVA because, they say, he consistently favored corporate interests over
PG&E Knew That Equipment That Caused Camp Fire Was Close to Failure But Decided Not to Repair and Instead Hope for Rain
New documents show that PG&E knew in 2016 that Caribou-Palermo equipment was close to failure, but decided not to fix it, hoping that the rain would put out any resulting fire. Two years later the equipment caused the Camp Fire.
PG&E’s Proposed Bonus Program Prioritizes Profits Over Safety
PG&E has asked the bankruptcy judge to approve an employee bonus program that rewards employees more for boosting PG&E’s bottom line that for making the electrical safe. We object.
PG&E Dodges and Weaves During Questioning in Bankruptcy Proceeding
This week PG&E appeared in bankruptcy court to answer questions under oath put to it by wildfire survivors and other creditors. PG&E and its lawyers resisted answering some questions and, in one instance, outright refused to do so even after being directed to answer by the United States Bankruptcy Trustee. (So much for PG&E’s commitment
PG&E Buckles On Bonuses
PG&E asked the bankruptcy judge to approve bonuses to its employees totaling $130 million. We objected, arguing that “every dollar PG&E pays out to its executives in bonuses is a dollar the victims who were burned out by those executives don’t get.”
While sympathetic to our argument, the bankruptcy judge ruled that, under the
PG&E To Pay Its Bankruptcy Lawyers Staggering Sums
When it filed bankruptcy, PG&E committed to pay its army of bankruptcy lawyers on a monthly basis many millions of dollars in fees. Some of that money might better be directed to PG&E victims who have been homeless for years now, especially since PG&E swears in court that it filed it bankruptcy to serve the