Tag: Back
PG&E Asks Bankruptcy Judge to Back Restructured Power Deals
California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has asked the judge overseeing its bankruptcy case to support restructured deals with some of the utility’s power suppliers in an effort to reduce the price PG&E pays for those companies’ electricity.
The fate of $ 42 billion worth of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) is a key component of PG&E’s bankruptcy and is being closely watched by the power industry, which relies on long-term power contracts to attract financing.
PG&E’s court filing comes just weeks after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure to create a $ 21 billion state wildfire fund, designed to help the state’s three investor-owned utilities pay for damages resulting from wildfires in the state.
Allan Marks, a partner in the Los Angeles office of global law firm Milbank LLP, working in Milbank’s Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance practice, told POWER, “In general, [the wildfire fund] is designed to provide liquidity if utilities aren’t able to handle wildfire claims without becoming insolvent.”…
Regulators Back Dominion Takeover of SCANA
Dominion Energy’s bid to purchase SCANA Corp. and its South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) utility, approved by South Carolina regulators on Dec. 14, could bring some stability to SCANA. Shareholders hope that’s the case; they’re excited about swapping their devalued SCANA shares for more valuable Dominion stock.
Workers, though, remain uncertain about their futures, fearing job losses with SCANA moving from local ownership to operating under the auspices of a Virginia-based company. On the flip side, workers also know new ownership could help the company’s bottom line and prevent job cuts, which Dominion has addressed in its merger agreement.
South Carolina’s Public Service Commission (PSC) unanimously supported Dominion’s offer for SCANA, despite protests from environmental groups and others who say the deal is not good for state ratepayers. SCANA CEO Jimmy Addison said the PSC’s decision put the companies “one step closer to a final resolution and the certainty that stakeholders have been hoping for.”
Thomas Farrell, Dominion’s chairman, president and CEO, in a statement Friday said his company was “encouraged” by the PSC’s unanimous support, “and awaits an order to review prior to making a final decision to close the merger with SCANA.”…