Senate Bill 492 and a 52-week low of 13.09 dollars

PG&E shares fell more than 20 per cent on Monday to a 52-week low of 13.09 dollars before trading at 13.36 dollars in late morning. California lawmakers advanced Senate Bill 492 without Governor Gavin Newsom's proposal to bar insurers from suing electric utilities over wildfire claims. At the same hour Edison International was down 23 per cent and Sempra more than 2 per cent. Three names, one liability rule left standing.[1]

PG&E said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that the bill makes progress on wildfire recovery and preparedness but falls short of addressing the financial risks created by the state's existing liability framework. The company said it will hold an investor call on Wednesday morning. That is the firm's own map of what lawmakers left standing.[1]

About 21 billion dollars, almost 48 per cent if it runs out

The bill speeds payments to fire victims, strengthens data sharing and allows further bonds for the state Wildfire Fund, whose claims-paying capacity is about 21 billion dollars. It puts no new money into the fund and defines no way to replenish it. PG&E would have to cover almost 48 per cent of the fund if it were exhausted. Who owes whom is written as a percentage of a fund the text does not refill.[1]

PG&E's filing already draws the chain: insurers can still sue electric utilities, claims still land on a fund with about 21 billion dollars of capacity, and exhaustion would put almost 48 per cent of that fund on PG&E. Further bonds and faster payments to fire victims may keep those claims inside the fund. If they do not, the residual sits in the open.[1]

The 2019 filing is still the working map

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 over wildfire liabilities. PG&E said it will hold an investor call on Wednesday morning. If that call names no new money and no replenishment path for the Wildfire Fund, the almost 48 per cent cover stays the residual written into the bill. The door used in 2019 still has its hinges on Senate Bill 492.[1]