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With questions swirling about whether Pacific Gas & Electric Co. equipment could have sparked the Camp Fire — the state’s deadliest and most destructive blaze on record —Â California’s top utility regulator says he will expand an existing probe into PG&E’s overall structure.
California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Picker says the CPUC will examine “the corporate governance, structure, and operation of PG&E, including in light of the recent wildfires, to determine the best path forward for Northern Californians to receive safe electrical and gas service in the future.”
It’s the strongest indication to date that Picker and other regulators may be open to reconsidering the very existence of the publicly traded utility giant.
State Sen. Looking at Breaking Up Utilities Following Potential Ties to Deadly Fires
Earlier this week, State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, said he is looking into legislation that could break up the utility or make it public.
Hill has been a harsh critic of PG&E since one of the utility’s gas transmission lines exploded in 2010, leveling a neighborhood in his district and killing eight people.
But Gov. Jerry Brown and officials at the CPUC, the regulatory body charged with overseeing utilities, have been criticized for what some see as a cozy relationship with the utility.
And even before the Camp Fire, PG&E — which is blamed for at least 16 of the blazes that broke out in California last year — has been actively pushing for a change to state liability law to protect itself from billions of dollars in wildfire damages in recent years. Brown supported making it harder to sue PG&E, stopping short of an all-out repeal of the liability law .
Ultimately, lawmakers passed a more modest bill that doesn’t change liability law but will let utilities pass off some costs to ratepayers for fires that started in 2017 or after 2018 — but not this year.
That bill capped months of debate over PG&E’s future and whether the company could go bankrupt, a conversation that’s sure to begin anew in 2019.
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PG&E’s stock price already plummeted this week amid questions about whether it could have started the Camp Fire, even though it could be months or longer until state investigators officially determine the cause.
Some residents in Butte County, large swaths of which have been devastated by the Camp Fire, aren’t waiting for that investigation. Earlier this week, they filed suit against the utility, blaming it for the blaze.
In a statement, PG&E said it is focused on helping those affected by the fire to recover, and will cooperate with any investigation.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers, employees, contractors and the communities we serve. The cause of the Camp Fire has not yet been determined,” the statement read.
“Our focus right now is all about supporting first responders; positioning our employees to assess damage, restore service and rebuild infrastructure; and helping our communities recover. PG&E will fully cooperate with any investigations.”
Picker also noted in his statement that under the wildfire bill signed by Gov. Brown in September, California utilities must file wildfire mitigation plans with the CPUC.
Picker said those plans “will be adopted before the wildfire season starts next year,” though state fire officials have been warning that California no longer has a fire season, but a year-round threat.
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