PG&E's long-running bankruptcy saga enters pivotal stage

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric limped into bankruptcy vilified for its long-running neglect of a crumbling electrical grid that ignited a succession of horrific Northern California wildfires that left entire cities in ruins.

After nearly a year-and-a-half of wrangling during one of the most complex bankruptcy cases in U.S. history, it’s unclear if PG&E is now any better equipped to protect the 16 million people who rely on it for power.

The drama is scheduled to enter its latest act starting Wednesday in a trial examining PG&E’s $58 billion plan to get out of bankruptcy. That proceeding, known as a confirmation hearing, will overlap with a hearing by state power regulators who also must approve PG&E’s plan.

The outcome will affect the future of a sprawling service territory that includes San Francisco, Northern California’s world-famous wine country, Yosemite National Park and the Silicon Valley home of Apple, Google and Facebook.

The utility has been blamed for more than 100 deaths in the past decade, including 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter in a blaze that destroyed the town of Paradise.

“PG&E has a narrow tightrope to walk when it comes to doing what it needs to prevent wildfires, remain financially solvent and to keep rates from skyrocketing,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, an activist group and frequent foil of the company.

PG&E believes it is ready to navigate that gauntlet. The company plans “to implement needed changes across our business to improve our operations and governance for the long term,” chief financial officer, Jason Wells, assured state power regulators in a May 14 letter.

That confidence isn’t widely shared.

Some of the lawyers...