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1   Patrick   2018 Jul 11, 8:52am  

This is what makes pg&e a good stock. The public has no choice. The money will just be taken from them.
2   ForcedTQ   2019 Jan 25, 11:27am  

tovarichpeter says
https://www.kqed.org/science/1927059/pge-customers-to-foot-the-bill-for-wine-country-fire-costs-under-revised-bill


GUESS WHAT??? PG&E has just been cleared of the Tubbs fire in Sonoma...

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/cal-fire-concludes-pge-did-not-cause-2017-tubbs-fire-sending-shares-soari/546810/

Anybody ready for the Firetruck chasers to have their asses handed to them? Libel and defamation suits should be forthcoming, I am sick and tired of hearing/seeing that frothy garbage non-stop on the radio/TV/bulletin boards...

Now, that private property owner whose electric equipment DID start the fire.... That individual must be puckering like he just got douched with 1,000,000 gallons of lemon juice.
3   RWSGFY   2019 Jan 25, 11:28am  

ForcedTQ says
PG&E has just been cleared of the Tubbs fire in Sonoma...


Yeah. ONE fire. How many left?
4   anonymous   2019 Jan 25, 3:26pm  

Why Californians May Pay 5 Times More for Electricity This Year

Instead of paying its expected liabilities for the past two years’ wildfires, PG&E plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection next week. In a filing with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this month, the company estimated that its liability total from 2017 and 2018 wildfires is likely to exceed $30 billion.

This isn’t PG&E’s first rodeo. Its bankruptcy filing in 2001 was among the largest-ever and followed a run-up in wholesale electricity prices that were later linked to Enron’s manipulation of the California market. Then-governor Gray Davis bailed out PG&E with state money and paid the price at the ballot box, losing a recall election to Arnold Schwarzenegger. PG&E ultimately paid more than $10 billion to its creditors on its exit from bankruptcy. The company’s customers each paid an estimated $1,300 to $1,700 over a period of nine years in the form of a surcharge on their electricity bills.

The company’s protests to Judge Alsup’s order are not much more than a scare tactic that PG&E probably hopes will raise a clamor among its customers for the state to do something. If history is any guide, another bailout could be political death for new governor Gavin Newsom.

The state public utility commission could allow PG&E to issue state-backed bonds, but the company’s customers would end up paying those costs eventually as well. Besides, the commission has set some pretty strict conditions on more bonding authority for PG&E and the company has balked.

Asset management firm and PG&E shareholder Blue Mountain Capital last week sent a letter to the company demanding that it drop its plan for bankruptcy, claiming that the company has “ample liquidity” to continue operating without wiping out shareholders. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich agrees and told CNBC on Wednesday that PG&E should not be able to use bankruptcy “to get out of their responsibilities.”

For PG&E, the best solution is bankruptcy. For nearly everyone else, it’s just about the worst solution. The jury’s still out.

https://247wallst.com/infrastructure/2019/01/24/why-californians-may-pay-5-times-more-for-electricity-this-year/
5   Bd6r   2019 Jan 25, 4:01pm  

Kakistocracy says
Why Californians May Pay 5 Times More for Electricity This Year

I am sure the Masters of Universe running PG&E will not have any of their bonuses cut, because TALENT FOR STARTING FIRES is in short supply. WIN-WIN!
6   clambo   2019 Jan 25, 5:29pm  

They have an ad on TV for FPL=Florida Light and Power

On it, they mention that rates are 30% below the national average.

They briefly pop up bill comparisons; FPL $100 -Texas $174, etc.

The one which caught my eye was: FPL $100-California $279

Holy shit that's a big difference.

I thought the cause of the fire was a house not PG&E anyway?
7   anonymous   2019 Feb 10, 2:27am  

Another Utility Is One Wildfire Away From Ruin, No Fix in Sight

As PG&E Corp. plunged into bankruptcy last month, S&P Global Ratings slashed credit grades almost to junk status for California’s two other big electric utilities, owned by Sempra Energy and Edison International, and said they could go lower.

The reason: inverse condemnation. Under the state’s view of this legal doctrine, utilities can be held liable for any fires sparked by their equipment, even if they follow every safety rule. With deadly blazes getting bigger and more common, California’s two remaining big power companies could be just one fire away from ruin. Now they’re urging lawmakers to do something about it, and fast.

“This is a really serious issue that could absolutely impair the health of utilities in this state,” Pedro Pizarro, Edison’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. “I don’t want to speculate about bankruptcy, but this is serious. And the current approach is just not sustainable.”

So far, a fix has proved elusive. But there are potential routes out of the morass.

Legislation

California lawmakers spent much of last year hunting for a solution. In August, they passed a bill designed to help utilities cover liabilities from a wave of fires in 2017. But it doesn’t offer aid for 2018 fires, a critical issue after November’s Camp Fire, the deadliest in state history. With PG&E’s equipment seen as a possible ignition source, the company estimated it was facing $30 billion in wildfire liabilities when it filed for bankruptcy.

California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom, assembled an advisory panel and told them to fast-track their efforts; he wants a report before July. Utilities and legislators are all offering ideas, but there’s no guarantee they’ll find a solution that will help the power companies without becoming a financial burden to the state, or raise the ire of ratepayers and voters.

The inverse condemnation doctrine is rooted in California’s constitution, so any direct changes would require a constitutional amendment, according to the state’s legislative counsel office. An amendment would need to win two-thirds majorities in both the state Assembly and Senate, and then be approved by voters. Given the public anger at PG&E, that avenue is closed, legislators say.

New Standard

The utilities say another option is for the legislature to change the way inverse condemnation is applied. Instead of using a standard of strict liability, the state could instead look at whether the utility acted reasonably in running its equipment. There’s a precedent for this: a 1997 state Supreme Court ruling that used this standard in a water-district case.

“We’ve actually looked at this really closely, and we believe that under the law, yes, the legislature has the power to change that standard,” Pizarro said. “We’re not looking to get off the hook here if we’re negligent. If we’re negligent, we should be held accountable.”

However, utilities already pitched this idea to Sacramento last year, with no success. Lawmakers said electric utilities and water districts were too different to make this a plausible connection.

Compensation Fund

Some legislators are focusing on alternative ways to compensate fire victims, easing the financial pressure on utilities.

Assemblyman Chad Mayes in January introduced a bill to create a California Wildfire Catastrophe Fund. Utilities would pay into the fund annually, and a public authority would oversee it. The money would back bonds, and utilities could use the proceeds to settle wildfire claims.

Many of the details need to be worked out, Mayes said. Can utilities pass on some of the costs to customers? If so, how much? Should the state seed the fund with money from its greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program? Still, Sacramento is committed to resolving the issue, “because we’ve got to keep the lights on,” he said.

“The idea is to pre-fund the disaster, not post-fund the disaster,” said Mayes, a Republican representing desert communities around Palm Springs. With the law passed last year, “we tried to post-fund the disaster.”

No Action

Of course, there’s always the chance the state could end up doing nothing at all. Nobody knows what Newsom will do, and when PG&E said it was preparing to file for bankruptcy, he took no public steps to stop it.

But inaction would have a significant effect on the utilities and their customers. The ever-present risk of more fires means the companies’ credit ratings could be headed toward junk status, making it more expensive, or even impossible, for the companies to access capital. And higher borrowing costs would almost certainly lead to higher monthly bills.

“The rating agencies are looking at California now and saying, ‘There’s just too much risk here,’ ” Pizarro said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-09/another-utility-is-one-wildfire-away-from-ruin-no-fix-in-sight?srnd=premium
8   clambo   2019 Feb 11, 7:03am  

They have an interesting ad on TV in S. Florida for the utility called FPL=Florida power and light.

They show how the rates are 30% below the national average.

Briefly they show how the bills compare: FPL $100, Texas $130; FPL $100, New York $172;

FPL $100, California $279! Holy shit Batman!

What amazes me is that California is so fucked compared to that devolving mess of New York.
9   anonymous   2019 Feb 11, 9:03am  

clambo says
What amazes me is that California is so fucked compared to that devolving mess of New York.


Part of that has to do with the gun that was put to their collective heads and being held hostage over make believe power shortages by the smartest guys in the room from what was Enron.

Dubya was probably never so happy to see someone have a fatal coronary as old "Kenny Boy" before he could testify and implicate Dubya.
10   Bd6r   2019 Feb 11, 10:16am  

clambo says
fatal coronary as old "Kenny Boy"

@Kakistocracy Rumor in this part of the world is that "Kenny Boy" is alive and well in S. America. Only his wife and well-paid personal doctor saw his dead body.
11   zzyzzx   2019 Feb 11, 12:14pm  

Patrick says
This is what makes pg&e a good stock. The public has no choice. The money will just be taken from them.


Didn't people who owned their stock last time they went bankrupt lose all or nearly all their investment in PGE?
12   anonymous   2019 Feb 11, 1:10pm  

zzyzzx says
Didn't people who owned their stock last time they went bankrupt lose all or nearly all their investment in PGE?



sssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh
13   anonymous   2019 Feb 12, 3:11am  

clambo says
They show how the rates are 30% below the national average.


Wait another merger or two between the large players in the utility markets and Floridians will also be able to enjoy the same high rates as everyone else.
14   rocketjoe79   2019 Feb 12, 7:13am  

“Our internal investigation showed no crime. “ Just like people shot by cops.

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