‘Explain how things got this bad’: California congressman wants PG&E oversight hearing
A California lawmaker wants to pull PG&E before Congress for an oversight hearing over how the bankrupt company plans to prevent future problems with wildfires.
The request from Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, is the latest in a long stream of blowback toward PG&E from politicians, businesses and the public since the company’s equipment triggered deadly California wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
Democratic presidential candidate and California Sen. Kamala Harris introduced legislation that would ban utilities under bankruptcy, like PG&E, from paying bonuses to executives.
The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted Wednesday to investigate PG&E’s massive October blackouts that left millions of Californians without power.
And that’s all just within the last week.
Harder is now asking the House Energy and Commerce Committee call the utility company to Capitol Hill.
“We need PG&E executives to come before the committee to explain how things got this bad and clue us in to their efforts to make things right,” Harder said. “They’re not responsible for the weather, but they are responsible for the unreliable state of their infrastructure.”
Harder wrote a letter to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Frank Pallone, D-New Jersey, and top Republican Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, asking for the hearing.
PG&E has said customers should expect intermittent blackouts for up to 10 years as it works to update infrastructure in the face of more severe wildfires and climate change.The company is on the hook for billions of dollars in liabilities stemming from deadly wildfires.
“As climate change continues to worsen and our electrical infrastructure falls further into disrepair, we will see more and more deadly electrical events across the country,” Harder wrote. “It’s time for Congress to start leading. Holding a hearing on this and calling in the relevant parties to answer for inaction is a critical first step.”
A committee spokesman suggested lawmakers are open to hearing on PG&E.
“We are following all of the developments regarding the wildfires and the electricity shutoffs throughout California, and will consider Committee action in the coming months,” the spokesman said.
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