PG&E Corp. and its Pacific Gas & Electric Co. utility filed for chapter 11 protection in San Francisco as investigators probe whether its equipment ignited the deadliest fire in state history, Bloomberg News reported. The San Francisco-based company listed $51.7 billion in total debts and $71.4 billion in assets. California’s wildfires have in the past saddled utilities with millions of dollars in damages, but never have the blazes exacted such a massive financial toll from a company — creating one of the country’s largest utility bankruptcies of all time. Since November’s Camp Fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise, PG&E has seen about three-fourths of its market value wiped out, its chief executive officer leave, its bonds plunge to junk status and estimates of its fire liabilities swell to more than $30 billion. The only time the company has ever faced such dire financial straits was during the 2001 energy crisis, when it was forced to place its utility unit in bankruptcy protection. The same judge who oversaw the company’s last chapter 11 filing, Dennis Montali, has been assigned to its most recent. The utility’s top creditors include Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Citibank, Mizuho and Bank of America Corp. Bank of New York Mellon holds the largest unsecured claim, totaling $3 billion, court filings show. The first meeting of creditors has been set for Feb. 26.
