Judge rips PG&E's safety record before key bankruptcy vote

Judge rips PG&E's safety record before key bankruptcy vote

SeattlePI.com

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BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — California power regulators are mulling whether to approve Pacific Gas & Electric's $58 billion plan for getting out of a bankruptcy caused by in a series of deadly wildfires.

The vote is scheduled Thursday afternoon, just a few hours after a federal judge ripped the company for continuing to engage in reckless behavior that he believes is endangering even more lives.

The drama unfolded during separate hearings held by the California Public Utilities Commission and the judge overseeing PG&E's criminal probation for a fatal explosion that occurred a decade ago.

PG&E would clear a key hurdle in its effort to end its nearly year-and-half stint in bankruptcy if the Public Utilities Commission approves a complex plan resolving more than $50 billion in claimed losses after the company's fraying electrical grid ignited a series of catastrophic wildfires during 2017 and 2018. The Northern California fires killed more than 100 people and destroyed more than 27,000 homes and other buildings.

PG&E used the bankruptcy process to settle those claims for $25.5 billion, including $13.5 billion earmarked for the wildfire victims, although some survivors are convinced they will wind up getting much less. That's because half of the $13.5 billion consists of PG&E stock that critics of the plan worry will be worth considerably less, especially if the company is blamed for causing more fires later this year.

Before regulators planned to vote on PG&E's plan, a litany of speakers urged the company's chief regulator to reject the complex proposal because they believe it doesn't do enough to ensure the nation's largest utility will do enough to protect the 16 million people who rely on it for power.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup also raised the same worries during a hearing focused on...

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