Pacific Gas and Electric´s three-year bankruptcy approached its conclusion yesterday, after a federal judge rejected a last-ditch attempt to block a customer-backed bailout.
The judge denied a request by two state energy regulators to keep P-G-and-E in bankruptcy at least another month while the bailout´s opponents pursue various appeals.
The ruling clears the way for the San Francisco-based utility to shed the scarlet letter of bankruptcy on Monday and begin repaying about 12 billion dollars in bills.
P-G-and-E´s finances unraveled as California´s wholesale power costs soared far above the retail prices established as part of a state deregulation law approved in 1996
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 4:30 pm