Jason Wells, chief financial officer of the parent company of utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co., did not detail exactly how the fund would function but said PG&E is working with government officials to ensure it would not jeopardize any federal financial assistance provided to wildfire survivors.
“We understand the impact the fire has had on so many individuals, and as soon as we complete these discussions with the governmental agencies, it is our intention to file that motion,” Wells said during a San Francisco meeting of creditors required as part of PG&E’s bankruptcy court proceedings.
Wells told Gerald Singleton, one of the attorneys representing various wildfire victims, that PG&E “would have liked to have already filed this” but has to complete an analysis into whether it would conflict with aid that the Federal Emergency Management Agency gives to disaster victims.
He said the company wants to provide “the most support to those most in need” from the Camp Fire and and 2017 Northern California fires, many of which were caused by PG&E power lines, state investigators found. PG&E Corp. and its utility subsidiary filed for bankruptcy protection in January, citing wildfire liability from both years that could exceed $30 billion.
Wells declined to answer questions about the specifics of the fund or when it might be created. He also said he could not estimate when PG&E will put forward a plan to reorganize its business in order to emerge from bankruptcy protection, noting that the company needs to “have a better handle on the total claims exposure” as well as any legal changes to wildfire liability laws.
A state government “strike force” assembled by Gov. Gavin Newsom recently outlined a series of measures lawmakers should consider to change utility wildfire liability laws. The ideas include creating a new wildfire insurance fund and reforming the doctrine through which California utilities can be held strictly liable for fires started by their equipment, even if they were not negligent.
Wells said “there’s a lot of work the state needs to do” before arriving at a solution, but PG&E thinks the company and government officials can “work constructively” toward a “common outcome” in the current legislative session.
At the meeting in a San Francisco federal court, Wells and another PG&E executive were first questioned at length by Assistant U.S. Trustee Timothy Laffredi on the details of some of the company’s financial statements. Then attorneys who represent wildfire victims and other creditors had their chance to ask questions of Wells and David Thomason, controller of PG&E Corp.
The questioning produced numerous tense exchanges over the course of several hours.
One of the most emotional moments came when Bryan Montgomery, a Calaveras County survivor of the 2015 Butte Fire — which the state has attributed to PG&E equipment — addressed Wells directly. PG&E had agreed to pay many Butte Fire survivors but hasn’t followed through since the bankruptcy filing — a delay Montgomery wanted to reconcile.
Wells told him PG&E believes that filing for bankruptcy protection allows the company to more quickly resolve all the wildfire claims against it than it would be able to accomplish otherwise.
Montgomery wasn’t satisfied.
“It ain’t ever gonna be the same for me,” he told the PG&E executives and their lawyers. “I lost my faith in humanity, and you guys are part of that.”
J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com, Twitter: @thejdmorris
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