PG&E gives feds bankruptcy warning

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PG&E gives feds bankruptcy warning

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. says it will be penniless by sometime early next month. The prediction is in a filing yesterday with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC].

The giant utility, which sells electricity to customers from the Oregon border south to Bakersfield, says bankruptcy looms unless it gets the retail rate hikes it wants.

The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to rule tomorrow on PG&E's request for am immediate increase averaging 26 percent as well as on a request from Southern California Edison for increases averaging 30 percent. The San Francisco Chronicle in this morning's editions says it's learned the PUC will approve a rate increase of 15 percent to 20 percent.

Edison and PG&E claim they have lost a combined $9 billion because they have been unable to pass higher wholesale power costs on to their customers.

Today, the state legislature goes into an emergency session to discuss remedies for the state's power crisis.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2001/01/01/daily15.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 03, 2001


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