PG&E files for bankruptcy protection after catastrophic California wildfire
Hedge fund shareholder BlueMountain to propose a new slate of directors
Bengaluru — Utility owner PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in anticipation of liabilities from California wildfires, including a catastrophic 2018 blaze that killed 86 people. PG&E, which provides electricity and natural gas to 16-million customers in northern and central California and employs 24,000 people, vowed to keep the lights on as it grapples with fire-related costs it estimates at more than $30bn. “The power and gas will stay on.... We are not ‘going out of business’ and there will be no disruption in the services you expect from us,” interim CEO John Simon said in a letter to customers. The San Francisco-based owner of the biggest US power utility warned in November it could face significant liability in excess of its insurance coverage if its equipment was found to have caused the Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise, California, last year. The blaze broke out on November 8, killing at least 86 people in the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in Californ...
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