Energy Company PG&E to Name New CEO

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is expected to name Bill Johnson as chief executive.

According to a source close to the private negotations, Johnson may be announced as CEO as soon as tomorrow.

The California based bankrupt company faces $30 billion in wildfire liabilities after 2017 and last year’s catastrophic wildfires in Northern and Central California. Dozens of people had been killed in the fires and thousands of homes were destroyed.

A federal judge in San Francisco is barring the company from reissuing dividends in favor of using the funds for reduce the risk of wildfires in Northern and Central California.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup said to PG&E acting chief executive John Simon as quoted by the Associated Press, “A lot of money went out in dividends that should have went into tree trimming.”

He added, “PG&E pumped out $4.5 billion in dividends and let the tree budge whither. So a lot of trees should’ve been take down that were not.”

PG&E spokesperson James Noonan said in an email that “we share the court’s commitment to safety and understand that we must play a leading role in reducing the risk of wildfire throughout Northern and Central California.”

Before joining TVA, Johnson also was the chairman, president and CEO of Progress Energy from 2007-2012.
Progress Energy merged later with Duke Energy Corp.

Disclaimer: We have no position in PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) and have not been compensated for this article.