California regulators took steps yesterday to begin examining Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s path out of bankruptcy, a crucial analysis they must complete in nine months in order for the utility to comply with a new state wildfire law, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously in favor of opening the proceeding through which it eventually will determine whether to approve PG&E’s reorganization plan — the blueprint that will establish how the company pays victims of wildfires it caused and emerges from chapter 11 protection. PG&E’s bankruptcy judge and its state regulators have different roles in the case. While the bankruptcy court is concerned largely with the relationship between PG&E and its creditors, the commission’s top priority is the connection between the company and ratepayers. Commissioners must sign off on PG&E’s plan in order for it to become effective, and they have to do so by the end of June in order for the company to access a new fund that will protect it from future wildfire costs.
