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PG&E’s Reorganization Plan—Cap Wildfire Liabilities at $18 Billion

September 10, 2019

The post PG&E’s Reorganization Plan—Cap Wildfire Liabilities at $ 18 Billion appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) wants to cap its liabilities from damages caused by California wildfires at about $ 18 billion, according to the reorganization plan filed by the bankrupt utility September 9 in federal court in San Francisco. The amount is less than half what creditors, including insurance companies and wildfire victims, say they are owed.

PG&E said it plans to raise a combination of debt and equity to cover its liabilities after the company’s equipment was blamed for starting wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that left more than 100 people dead and caused billions of dollars in property damage. PG&E, the state’s largest utility, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January.

Jason Wells, the company’s chief financial officer, told Bloomberg on Monday, “We currently believe that the caps being outlined in our plan of reorganization are sufficient to satisfy the claims against the company.”…

PG&E Seeking $14 Billion in Restructuring Plan

September 6, 2019

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The post PG&E Seeking $ 14 Billion in Restructuring Plan appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) reportedly will soon file a restructuring plan that includes more than $ 14 billion in equity commitments, as the utility looks to recover from billions of dollars in liabilities tied to its role in California wildfires that caused the company to file the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Bloomberg on September 5 reported that PG&E’s plan, due to be filed September 9, will use a combination of debt and equity to cover the claims from wildfires that state officials determined were caused by the utility’s equipment. PG&E has not provided an estimate for those claims, though Bloomberg reported that the company has assurances from financial groups that it could raise as much as $ 40 billion in debt and equity to cover the wildfire claims and other bankruptcy-related costs.

The report said PG&E’s plan will commit to settling fire claims, continuing current power purchase agreements (PPAs), and exiting bankruptcy without increasing electricity rates.…

POWER Notebook: Duke Energy Sells Renewable Assets in $1.25 Billion Deal

April 27, 2019

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Duke Energy this week said it has a definitive agreement to sell a minority interest in part of its commercial renewable energy portfolio owned and operated by its affiliate, Duke Energy Renewables, to the John Hancock Infrastructure Fund and John Hancock Life Insurance Company. Duke in an April 24 release said the interest is valued at about $ 1.25 billion.

Duke said the deal includes 49% of 37 operating wind, solar, and battery storage assets, and 33% of 11 operating solar assets across the U.S. John Hancock’s interest will represent about 1.2 GW of power generation capacity after the deal is closed. John Hancock will also have the right to acquire a minority interest in certain additional wind and solar projects in the future, providing a potential source of future growth capital to Duke Energy.

“We look forward to working alongside John Hancock as we continue providing clean and affordable energy to our customers across the country,” said Rob Caldwell, president of Duke Energy Renewables. …

GE Selling Biopharma Unit in $21.4 Billion Deal

February 27, 2019

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General Electric’s (GE’s) sale of its biopharma unit on February 25 is designed to reduce the company’s overall debt load, and CEO Larry Culp said the deal is the latest step in his plan to strengthen the whole of GE, particularly the company’s struggling Power division.

GE on Monday agreed to sell the biopharma part of its life sciences business to Danaher Corp. for $ 21.4 billion. Washington, D.C.-based Danaher is the company Culp ran for about 13 years prior to joining GE.

Sale Strengthens Balance Sheet

“This news meaningfully accelerates our deleveraging plan,” Culp told Bloomberg after the deal was announced. “You can see the tide beginning to turn where we can really focus on a little less defense, a little more offense.” GE in November said it would reorganize GE Power into two businesses and consolidate the unit’s headquarters.

Shares in GE surged Monday, rising almost 9% to their highest level since October 2018. Culp, who took over as CEO on October 1 of last year, replacing John Flannery, in January said GE’s strategy moving forward “is clear: de-leverage our balance sheet and strengthen our businesses, starting with Power.…

PG&E: Judge’s Proposal Could Cost Utility $150 Billion

January 24, 2019

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Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) on Jan. 23 said a federal judge’s proposal that the utility mitigate fire danger in its service territory by trimming trees, along with inspecting and repairing thousands of miles of power lines, could cost the company as much as $ 150 billion this year.

William Alsup, a judge in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, earlier this month said he could order PG&E to remove or trim all trees that could threaten the utility’s equipment and possibly lead to wildfires. The judge said the work would need to be done by June 21.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which regulates the state’s utilities, is expected to express its opinion of Alsup’s proposal by Jan. 25. A hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Jan. 30 in San Francisco, the day after PG&E is expected to file for bankruptcy.

Alsup is supervising PG&E’s probation term that began in 2017 after PG&E was convicted of felony charges stemming from a 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif.,…

Report: Clean Energy Investments Hit $333.5 Billion in 2017

January 18, 2018

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Though some countries, including the U.S., have moved to support coal-fired power generation over the past year, investments in renewable energy continued to rise, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

The research group on January 16 said global investment in clean energy such as wind and solar reached about $ 333.5 billion in 2017, a 3% rise from the prior year, and just 7% below the record in 2015. BNEF said about half of all investment went to solar projects, with China accounting for nearly $ 133 billion—or about 40%—of the total investment in renewables. China’s total is 24% more than it spent in 2016, according to BNEF.

The report said two dozen countries invested more than $ 1 billion in clean energy initiatives in 2017. It noted that the falling costs of equipment such as wind turbines and solar panels has opened new markets, and is bringing electrification to areas—particularly in developing countries—where there is limited access to a transmission grid.…