Major utility implicated in more than a dozen wildfires files for bankruptcy

Enlarge / Fire burns around PG&E transmission towers on Monday, November 12, 2018, east of Pulga, Calif. The first report of the deadly Camp Fire was made near here. (credit: Karl Mondon/Digital First Media/The Mercury News via Getty Images)

On Tuesday morning, California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (PDF), citing billions of dollars in potential damages and fines stemming from liability in several 2017 and 2018 wildfires.

The utility noted in its Tuesday filing that it has secured $5.5 billion in debtor-in-possession financing to continue operating while it restructures. PG&E serves 16 million customers, primarily in northern California.

PG&E announced that it would file for bankruptcy earlier this month, as investigations into some of California's deadliest wildfires pointed to sparks from PG&E's transmission equipment as the causes of more than a dozen fires over the last two years. Investigators have implicated PG&E in 18 wildfires that occurred during October 2017, according to The Wall Street Journal. The fires "burned nearly 200,000 acres, destroyed 3,256 structures, and killed 22 people," the WSJ noted.

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