PG&E Poised to Emerge From Bankruptcy

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PG&E Poised to Emerge From Bankruptcy

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
The Associated Press
Wednesday, September 10, 2003; 3:45 AM


SAN FRANCISCO - California's largest power utility is on the verge of a remarkable transformation.

If Pacific Gas and Electric Co. wins approval of its proposed bailout package, it will end 2 1/2 years in bankruptcy court with a settlement that could make the utility more profitable than ever.

The turnaround will be financed largely by PG&E customers, much to the dismay of critics who plan to fight the bailout during hearings before the California Public Utilities Commission that begin Wednesday.

The deal's opponents contend that by 2012, PG&E's 4.8 million customers will have paid $9.3 billion in above-market power prices so that shareholders can be insulated from the usual pain bankruptcies inflict on investors.

"This just puts everything on the customers' backs so PG&E can come out of this unscathed," said Earl Bouse, chairman of the California Large Energy Consumers Association, a group of manufacturers unhappy with the high electricity rates mandated under the plan.