Struggling to Control PG&E

PG&E is hoping to use its bankruptcy to reduce its liabilities and become a more stable company. However, it looks like they may not have much control over the outcome. Investors, lawmakers, regulators and customers are trying to take the reins on the situation even though a judge has not even had a chance to look significantly into PG&E’s financials. Also, companies that sell power to PG&E are requesting that federal regulators intervene into the bankruptcy to make sure the utility can’t renegotiate its contracts with suppliers. It’s a pretty messy situation when the California Public Utilities Commission starts studying options that include breaking up PG&E, which serves 16 million people, or turning all or parts of it into a government-owned utility. “This is the most complicated and difficult decision environment I’ve ever seen for a bankruptcy case,” said Jared A. Ellias, a professor at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law. “I can’t think of a bankruptcy that had this many powerful parties with unclear bargaining power.” All in all this is a very difficult situation with a lot of moving parts that will take years to fully resolve.