Articles by Michael Liedtke

AP Technology Writer

PG&E’s Bankruptcy Plan Wins Support from California Wildfire Victims

Pacific Gas & Electric’s plan for getting out of bankruptcy has won overwhelming support from the victims of deadly Northern California wildfires ignited by the utility’s fraying electrical grid, despite concerns that they will be shortchanged by a $13.5 billion …

PG&E Purging Most of Board in Fallout From Bankruptcy, California Wildfires

PG&E Corp. will sweep out three quarters of its board of directors to start with a mostly clean slate when it emerges from a bankruptcy case triggered by deadly wildfires ignited in Northern California by the utility’s neglected electrical grid. …

PG&E’s Bankruptcy Plan Heads Toward Approval in California

California regulators are being advised to approve Pacific Gas & Electric’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy with new controls designed to prevent a recurrence of the utility’s past bad behavior that has resulted in deadly wildfires, infuriating blackouts and high …

PG&E’s Plan to Pay $19M from California Wildfire Victims Fund OK’d

The Northern California victims of catastrophic wildfires caused by Pacific Gas & Electric’s decaying electrical grid will have at least $19 million siphoned way from a $13.5 billion fund for their losses to cover administrative costs. A bankruptcy judge said …

Judge Won’t Approve California Wildfire Victims Letter Attacking PG&E

A federal judge has refused to put his stamp of approval on a letter to Northern California wildfire victims from attorneys who allege that Pacific Gas & Electric may be breaking its promises as it tries to preserve a plan …

Market Tumult Threatens PG&E Deal with California Wildfire Victims

Lawyers who negotiated a crucial $13.5 billion deal for the victims of deadly wildfires caused by Pacific Gas & Electric equipment are expressing serious doubts about whether the nation’s largest utility will be able to pay the full amount as …

Regulators Mull Reversing $462M Increase in PG&E’s California Wildfire Fines

California power regulators are weighing a recommendation to back off plans to fine Pacific Gas and Electric an additional $462 million for igniting a series of Northern California 2018 deadly wildfires rather than risk that the harsher punishment will scuttle …

PG&E to Use California Wildfire Victims Fund to Pay for Past Crimes

Pacific Gas & Electric is warning its elaborate plan for getting out of bankruptcy might collapse if the utility can’t pay for its crimes in a deadly Northern California wildfire by taking money away from a fund set up to …

PG&E’s Falling Stock Price Worries California Wildfire Victims Eyeing Deal

The stock market turmoil triggered by the coronavirus pandemic is raising worries that Pacific Gas & Electric’s $13.5 billion settlement with victims of catastrophic wildfires may be worth far less by the time the beleaguered company emerges from bankruptcy. A …

PG&E Has Settled One Battle Involving California Wildfire Fund

Pacific Gas & Electric told a federal bankruptcy judge that it has settled a dispute with disaster-relief agencies that threatened to siphon money away from a $13.5 billion fund earmarked for victims of catastrophic wildfires in California caused by the …