Statement on Pacific Gas & Electric Reorganization Plans

The Bay Area Council issued the following statement on the announcement by PG&E that it plans to file for Chapter 11 reorganization. PG&E was a founding member of the Bay Area Council and has been an important supporter of the organization over its almost 75 years.

“PG&E’s announcement that it plans to file for bankruptcy should alarm all Californians,” said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council. “Most immediately, PG&E’s bankruptcy casts a dark shadow of uncertainly over the 16 million residents and businesses that rely on PG&E for power, the many community organizations that benefit from PG&E’s philanthropy and the many victims of wildfires who are seeking redress for their profound losses. And while it might be easy for some to put the blame solely on PG&E for this action, the many factors and circumstances that contributed to this unfortunate decision have immense implications for the entire state and how we manage the incredible risk that climate change poses to California.

“For all of our great leadership on reducing carbon emissions, California has only just begun to consider ways to make its communities more resilient to the impacts of increasingly severe droughts, floods, wildfires, and extreme heat events that climate change brings. California still has much work to do to develop the public policies and regulations necessary to address this monumental threat. That includes how we manage our forests and broader ecosystems, how we decide where to build and where not to build, how we invest to modernize our energy infrastructure, and how we determine responsibility and accountability for all these things.

“Dismantling PG&E will not solve these problems. Unless we come to terms with these difficult questions—and soon—no amount of bankruptcies, sanctions, fines or punishments will prevent us from a repeat of the horrific wildfires that have raged across our state and caused unbearable pain and suffering to so many.”