California lawmaker introduces bill to make PG&E a publicly owned utility

Reuters

Published Feb 03, 2020 08:41PM ET

California lawmaker introduces bill to make PG&E a publicly owned utility

By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) - A California lawmaker has introduced a bill aimed at making PG&E Corp (N:PCG) a publicly owned utility, a year after liabilities from wildfires traced back to some of its equipment pushed the power producer into bankruptcy.

"Today I'm introducing legislation to force PG&E to become a publicly owned utility," California State Senator Scott Wiener said on Monday, adding it was time for a new approach at the utility company.

"PG&E has failed. It's failed on safety & reliability. PG&E has forfeited its privilege to operate as an investor-owned monopoly in California," he said in a tweet

The company said it opposed the bill from Wiener.

"PG&E's facilities are not for sale," a company spokesman told Reuters in an emailed statement.

"Changing the structure of the company would not create a safer or cleaner operation. Recent takeover attempts have largely failed due to a range of factors," the spokesman said.

The power producer said on Saturday it had submitted an updated reorganization plan including a new board of directors and new roles aimed at addressing concerns raised by California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Newsom last month rejected an earlier PG&E reorganization plan saying it lacked major changes in governance and tougher safety enforcement mechanisms mandated under a recent state wildfire statute.

The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in January last year, citing potential liabilities in excess of $30 billion from deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018 linked to its equipment.