PG&E News

A Month Out From Wildfire Season and PG&E Is Behind on Tree Work

California is just one month away from the official start of wildfire season and bankrupt utility giant PG&E Corp. is running behind on inspections, repairs and tree-trimming that was ordered up to reduce the risk of another devastating blaze. PG&E, …

PG&E Gets Approval to Pay Employees $350 Million to Meet Safety Goals After Wildfires

SAN FRANCISCO — PG&E Corp can pay employees up to $350 million in bonuses this year to spur them to help meet the bankrupt California power provider’s safety goals to prevent wildfires, a judge said on Tuesday. PG&E’s management has …

Prosecutors Decline to File Criminal Charges against PG&E for Wine Country Fires

An investigation into fierce wildfires that swept Northern California’s wine country in 2017, killing 46 people, found no basis to criminally charge PG&E, the utility whose power lines helped spark the conflagration, prosecutors said on Monday. The decision, which leaves …

Judge Orders PG&E Compliance With Fire Safety Laws

A federal judge is requiring PG&E Corp. to abide by rules governing how the utility operates its power lines in California, seeking to reform what he described as “dismal” management that led to a series of destructive fires over the …

Other California Utilities Are Just a Wildfire Away From Ruin

The warning couldn’t have been clearer. As PG&E Corp. plunged into bankruptcy last month, S&P Global Ratings slashed credit grades almost to junk status for California’s two other big electric utilities, owned by Sempra Energy and Edison International, and said …

San Francisco Gas Blast Shoots Fire Burning Buildings

A gas explosion in a San Francisco, Calif., neighborhood shot flames into the air for hours Wednesday and burned five buildings, sending panicked residents and workers fleeing into the streets. It took utility crews more than two hours to put …

Judge Sees ‘Clear-Cut Pattern’ of PG&E Causing Fires

A federal judge who has been critical of PG&E Corp.’s safety record said the utility has a “clear-cut pattern” of starting fires. U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup is overseeing PG&E’s probation for safety violations that led to felony convictions …

California Probe Clears PG&E of Deadly 2017 Tubbs Wildfire

PG&E Corp. was cleared of blame for a deadly 2017 blaze just days before the California utility giant was set to file for bankruptcy to deal with crippling wildfire liabilities. And yet the company has given no indication that it’s …

PG&E Says Judge’s Proposals for Fire Risk Mitigation Could Cost up to $150B

Proposals by a U.S. judge to prevent Pacific Gas & Electric Co. equipment from causing more wildfires would endanger lives, could cost as much as $150 billion and would interfere with the work of federal and state regulators, the utility …

PG&E Stalls Paying Settlements to 2015 Butte Fire Victims

PG&E Corp. is so cash-starved that it won’t commit to paying settlements reached with people who lost their homes in a 2015 wildfire caused by a tree falling on a power line. The disclosure by a lawyer for the utility …