A push for an official voice for ratepayers in PG&E Corp.’s bankruptcy case is gaining momentum as California’s largest utility confronts the fallout from years of wildfires linked to its equipment, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Utility Reform Network, or Turn, is asking for a seat at the bargaining table for customers as PG&E negotiates with investors and wildfire victims over its future. Ratepayers want to make sure they don’t have to pay the price for PG&E’s safety failures, said Turn Executive Director Mark Toney in an interview. Backed by representatives of big utility customers and the Public Advocate’s Office of the California Public Utilities Commission, the nonprofit is campaigning for the appointment of an official committee in PG&E’s bankruptcy case. PG&E filed for chapter 11 protection at the end of January, after being hit with claims for an estimated $30 billion in damage from wildfires. PG&E hasn’t responded to the request for a ratepayer committee, which came in a series of filings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has suggested a state fund be created to cushion utilities against the shock of wildfire damages, exciting both shareholders and bondholders. Ultimately, someone will have to pay, either shareholders or ratepayers, for such a fund, which is being talked about as a fund of $15 billion or more, according to a recent report from Moody’s Investors Service.
