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PG&E files for bankruptcy. Here's why that could mean bigger electricity bills
PG&E Corp., which owns California's largest electric utility, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday in anticipation of huge legal claims, starting an unpredictable process that could take years to resolve and is likely to result in higher energy bills for the millions of Californians who depend on Pacific Gas & Electric for power.
PG&E said a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which allows the company to continue operating while it comes up with a plan to pay its debts, was the only way to deal with billions of dollars in potential liabilities from a series of deadly wildfires, many of which were sparked by the company's power grid infrastructure.
"Through this process, we will prioritize what matters most to our customers and the communities we serve — safety and reliability," interim Chief Executive John R. Simon said in a statement. "We believe that this process will make sure that we have sufficient liquidity to serve our customers and support our operations and obligations."
Energy experts say PG&E's rates probably will increase when the utility emerges from Chapter 11 protection because bankruptcy inevitably makes it more expensive for a company to borrow money and creates large legal and other bankruptcy-related costs. The utility passes such expenses along to its customers.
"It's almost impossible to see a way out of this that doesn't have some short-term cost increases," Ralph Cavanagh, co-director of the energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a recent interview.
(Score: 1, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday January 30 2019, @03:31PM
For once Fake News CNN is right. It comes down to GARDENING. The RAKING and the WATERING. As I've said many times. You RAKE the forest. Then you WATER it. Keep that up and no fires. Look at Finland, I was with the President of Finland, he said "we're a Forest Nation." He called it a forest nation, and they spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things. And they don't have any problem. Or what it is, it’s a small problem. But California is totally insane. They're diverting massive amounts of water into the Pacific Ocean. While their forests are dieing. And they don't TREE CLEAR. They leave so many dead Trees standing there. And they can catch fire so easily. So easily.