SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today issued the following statement in response to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issuing an Order Instituting Investigation (OII) and finding violations for 12 of 21 2017 Northern California Wildfires:
Our hearts go out to those who have lost so much, and we remain focused on supporting them through the recovery and rebuilding process. We also want to thank the brave first responders who worked tirelessly to save lives, contain these devastating fires and protect our citizens and communities.
We are carefully reviewing the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Order Instituting Investigation and its Safety and Enforcement Division’s findings in the 2017 Northern California Wildfires to understand the agency’s perspectives. We will fully cooperate with the CPUC’s investigation throughout this process.
PG&E is working to help affected communities recover and rebuild and is seeking to emerge from bankruptcy as quickly as possible in order to compensate wildfire victims. We recognize that it will take sustained action on our part to regain the trust of our customers and stakeholders. We are working to develop a reorganization plan that can deliver on its promises and get quick approval from key stakeholders to ensure expeditious payment of wildfire liabilities.
We understand and recognize the CPUC’s concerns and acknowledge that while we have implemented significant additional wildfire mitigation measures following the devastating 2017 and 2018 wildfires, there is still more work to do and we are committed to doing it the right way. We’re open to a range of solutions that will help make the energy system safer for the customers we serve.
We are committed to taking the actions necessary to further reduce wildfire risk in our communities, master the fundamentals of our business, and compensate wildfire victims as quickly as possible as part of the Chapter 11 process.
To do that, we are making fundamental changes throughout PG&E. We have appointed new leadership throughout the company, including a new Board, a new CEO, and new Electric and Gas leaders.
Additionally, we are engaged in efforts designed to further mitigate wildfire risk on multiple levels by inspecting, repairing and hardening our electrical infrastructure, generating better and more location-specific information about high-threat weather conditions, proactively shutting off power in weather conditions known to pose a serious wildfire threat, and trimming excess vegetation that can damage power lines and create an ignition source.
We are also actively working with state agencies and local communities to develop the shared solutions and coordinated management needed to most effectively address the growing wildfire threat in California.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the beliefs, expectations, estimates, future plans and strategies of PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, which management believes are reasonable, and on information currently available to management, but are necessarily subject to various risks and uncertainties. In addition to the risk that these assumptions prove to be inaccurate, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements include the factors disclosed in PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, their most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, and their subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional factors include, but are not limited to, those associated with PG&E Corporation’s and Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Chapter 11 cases. PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether due to new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 23,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and pge.com/news.
