After years of wildfires sparked by its equipment, California’s biggest utility, PG&E Corp., faces a safety crisis that has landed it in bankruptcy court and seeded doubts about its ability to survive in its current form. The Wall Street Journal asked safety specialists, researchers, former regulators and other experts for ideas on what PG&E and regulators should do next. The five top suggestions include:
1. Stop running equipment until it breaks
2. Use predictive tools to assess risk
3. Regulate utility safety separately from electricity rates
4. Manage forests more aggressively
5. Threaten PG&E’s monopoly franchise
