PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company was incorporated in California in 1905.⁠[1]

In 1997 PG&E Corporation became the utility’s holding company.⁠[1]

On April 6, 2001, Pacific Gas and Electric Company filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 01-30923-M), retaining control of its assets and operating as a debtor in possession.⁠[2]

At the filing the utility had about $9 billion in debt, and unreimbursed power costs were running at more than $300 million a month. Wholesale power prices had risen from about $30 to $330 per megawatt hour. President and CEO Gordon Smith said: “This is a very viable financial entity save for the huge unrecovered wholesale costs.”⁠[3]

In April 2004 the court denied a motion to stay implementation of the reorganization plan, which proceeded on the previously announced effective date of April 12, 2004.⁠[4]

The roughly three-year bankruptcy ended with about 2,100 payments resolving $8.4 billion in allowed creditor claims, plus $1.8 billion placed in escrow for disputed claims. The settlement approved by California regulators included an $800 million electric rate reduction. PG&E Corp. President and CEO Robert Glynn said the company was able to “move forward on a sound financial basis.”⁠[5]

On September 9, 2010, a PG&E natural gas transmission pipeline exploded in San Bruno, California.⁠[6]

The explosion killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.⁠[7]

In April 2015 the California Public Utilities Commission voted 4–0 to order PG&E to pay $1.6 billion over the San Bruno explosion, including $300 million to the state, $400 million in gas customer refunds and $850 million in infrastructure work not recoverable in rates.⁠[8]

On August 9, 2016, a federal jury found PG&E guilty of 5 of 11 charged Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act violations and of obstructing an agency proceeding.⁠[6]

In January 2017 U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson was scheduled to sentence PG&E, which had agreed to prosecutors’ request for a monitor to oversee its compliance with pipeline safety regulations.⁠[7]

PG&E was sentenced to a $3 million fine, five years of probation, independent safety monitoring and 10,000 hours of community service, and was required within 60 days to run full-page ads in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is a U.S. news publication founded in 1889, with a focus on business, finance and economics. It is published by Dow Jones, part of News Corp.Open the full entry and 60-second TV ads describing its offenses and prevention steps.⁠[9]

The Camp Fire broke out in Butte County, California, on November 8, 2018, and destroyed nearly 14,000 homes.⁠[10]

On January 13, 2019, PG&E announced that Geisha Williams had stepped down as CEO. The board named John Simon, executive vice president and general counsel since 2017, interim CEO and began a search for a new chief executive.⁠[11]

On January 29, 2019, facing potential liabilities of tens of billions of dollars from the 2017 and 2018 wildfires, PG&E filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, listing about $51 billion in liabilities.⁠[10]

In April 2019 PG&E announced that William “Bill” Johnson, recently retired CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority, would replace interim CEO John Simon as CEO and president, and appointed ten new directors.⁠[12]

On June 16, 2020, PG&E pleaded guilty in Butte County Superior Court to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one felony count of unlawfully starting a fire over the Camp Fire, with Bill Johnson entering each plea. “Our equipment started that fire,” he said. The fire killed 85 people.⁠[13]

PG&E’s plan took effect on July 1, 2020, ending its Chapter 11 case. The Fire Victim Trust received $5.4 billion in cash that day, $1.35 billion more in 2021 and 2022, and common stock equal to 22.19% of shares outstanding. Insurers and other claimants settled for $11 billion. Bill Smith succeeded Bill Johnson as CEO that day.⁠[14]

On November 18, 2020, PG&E Corporation announced the appointment of Patricia K. Poppe, president and CEO of CMS Energy Corporation, as chief executive officer and a board member effective January 4, 2021.⁠[15]

In 2025 PG&E completed the $906 million purchase of its headquarters building at 300 Lakeside Drive in Oakland, the former Kaiser Center Tower. It had earlier sold its former San Francisco headquarters to Hines Interests for $800 million in a deal that closed in 2021.⁠[16]

PG&E Corporation’s 2025 total operating revenues were $24,935 million ($24,419 million in 2024), and GAAP income available for common shareholders of $2,593 million ($2,475 million in 2024) was $1.18 per diluted share. Patti Poppe is the CEO.⁠[17]

At December 31, 2025, the utility had about 29,000 regular employees.⁠[1]