PG&E Corp. has failed to persuade victims of wildfires sparked by its equipment to go along with a $5.5 billion loan, terms of which allow Wall Street banks to start dismantling the company if things go seriously wrong in bankruptcy court, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Lenders had offered concessions that would give PG&E more time to refinance the loan in the event of a default. However, papers filed Monday in a San Francisco bankruptcy court say the official committee that represents people who lost loved ones or homes in fires occurring over a span of years isn’t satisfied with the concessions. That means Judge Dennis Montali will have to decide at a court hearing today whether to approve PG&E’s bankruptcy loan, one of the largest in history, over the objections of wildfire victims. The California utility filed for chapter 11 protection at the end of January, planning to stay in bankruptcy for years to tackle an estimated $30 billion in fire-related liabilities. Terms of the loan say it could balloon to $9.5 billion if PG&E’s bankruptcy stay is prolonged.
