Specialist
Former C-level executive at Edison Energy LLC
Agenda
- Damages to utilities caused by the 2018 California wildfires, highlighting the most severely affected players and legal and regulatory ramifications
- California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC's) approach to utilities damages and regulations
- Outlook, considering historical wildfires, liability to public utilities in California and actions to address liability claims
Questions
1.
What is your take on the developments of late, highlighting items relevant to PG&E and the recent California wildfires?
2.
Could you break down the corporate structure of PG&E, highlighting the assets that would be affected by the wildfires and the read-throughs that this gives us into the potential bankruptcy filing?
3.
Is any form of PG&E’s state ownership a viable option? Is there any state support that would change PG&E from a course of bankruptcy?
4.
Regarding the point of asset sales, could you elaborate on what could happen, in terms of selling PG&E off its gas service division, and who would be a likely buyer? How could that play out, considering that it would have to be somebody with a safe and good track record in operating gas pipeline systems?
5.
Is there a way to remove the majority of the assets outside the regulatory arm of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to Ferc and thus bypass inverse condemnation?
6.
Is there any way that you see the constitutionality of inverse condemnation being challenged with the bankruptcy? Is there anything that the federal court could do to fix the issue that inverse condemnation presents? How will the Informal Complaint (IC) play out with the potential bankruptcy?
7.
What is your view on the extension of the Senate bill 901 to the 2018 fires? What are your thoughts on legislation and its impact on tackling inverse condemnation going forward?
8.
Having mentioned the climate change and the renewable standards being imposed off the back of utilities, could PG&E cancel contracts to increase the value of the estate? How damaging could that be to California’s renewable effort?
9.
Is there any room for renegotiating these Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)?
10.
Could you discuss the liabilities and the legal ramifications that PG&E faces from Camp fire stand alone, as well as how that complicates the 2017 fire liabilities and how this may all play out within the bankruptcy?
11.
What kind of legal arguments could there be for preventing the unsecured claims and wildfire claims being treated in the same class as unsecured creditors?
12.
How could the value of the wildfire claims be brought down?
13.
Regarding the pushbacks on PG&E and its decision to file for bankruptcy, how do you think that will play out, in terms of timeline?
14.
What are your closing remarks? Is there anything else that we missed or that we should be watching out for in the next few months?
