California’s largest utility soars

Under probe: Employees of PG&E work in the aftermath of the Camp Fire in Paradise, California. California authorities are investigating PG&E equipment as a possible cause of the so-called Camp Fire, the deadliest blaze in state history. — Reuters

PG&E Corp rallied as much as 49% in extended trading on Thursday after the head of the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) said he can’t imagine allowing the state’s largest utility to go into bankruptcy as it faces billions of dollars in potential liability from deadly wildfires.

“It’s not good policy to have utilities unable to finance the services and infrastructure the state of California needs,” PUC president Michael Picker says in an interview. “They have to have stability and economic support to get the dollars they need right now.”