Power provider PG&E Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, succumbing to liabilities stemming from wildfires in Northern California in 2017 and 2018. It listed assets of $71.39 billion and liabilities of $51.69 billion, in a court document filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.
No one knows from the where the next blow will fall. American judicial system is as dangerous as it is unpredictable. No one escapes it capricious vengeance.
It sounds like they were already in need of restructuring, and the potential fire liabilities presented a nice rationale.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, they haven't actually been found liable for anything yet.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-29/pg-e-files-for-bankruptcy-while-facing-billions-in-fire-damages
It escapes my understanding that wildfires could cause (potential) liabilities to an electricity company. Did PG&E cause the fire? Was it negligence? I thought that an electricity company sells electricity, and that its responsibility ends at the limits of its facility.
ReplyDeleteThey might have started the fire.
ReplyDeleteThe move comes on the back of insurance claims, amounting to at least $7 billion, from the Camp Fire which is believed to have started when a PG&E power line came in contact with nearby trees.
So I guess the insurance companies are already suing, but the state hasn't issued an official ruling on what started the fire yet.
Maybe. Maybe it was spontaneous. I have seen dry leaves and a broken glass to catch fire.
ReplyDelete