PG&E Corp. (PCG), owner of California’s largest electric utility, said that it may be pushed to the edge of bankruptcy if state regulators impose a proposed $2.25 billion penalty for a deadly 2010 pipeline explosion, Bloomberg reported yesterday. If approved, the company would pay a total of $4 billion, including money already spent on pipeline upgrades and safety work. The San Francisco-based company would need to sell about $2 billion in additional stock. The penalty is more than four times the company’s net income last year and is 15 years’ worth of earnings for its gas business. Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s have said they would review California’s regulatory system if the full penalty is assessed.
