How Climate Broke California’s Biggest Utility
Energy giant PG&E has admitted that faulty power lines lit the spark for California’s most deadly wildfire ever. The company now faces billions in liabilities and has declared bankruptcy. What’s next for PG&E – and for California’s energy future?
Climate One · Climate One from The Commonwealth Club
May 3, 201953m 2s
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Show Notes
PG&E has had a bad few years. A series of record-breaking wildfires culminating with 2018’s devastating Camp Fire propelled the California utility giant into lawsuits, $30 billion in liabilities and, ultimately, bankruptcy. Under new state laws, regulated utilities will have a hard time avoiding blame in fires where their equipment is involved—so what’s ahead for PG&E’s peers and their shareholders when a deadly blaze could spell bankruptcy? What happens when the California dream of living near nature is in direct conflict with disruptive tragedies fueled by climate change?
Guests:
Dian Grueneich, Former Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission
J.D. Morris, Energy Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle
Mark Toney, Executive Director, The Utility Reform Network
Alex Ghenis, Policy and Research Specialist, World Institute on Disability
Hunter Stern, Business Representative, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245
Loretta Lynch, Former Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission
Laura Wisland, Senior Manager, Western States Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists
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