A San Francisco Bid to Buy PG&E Is Facing a Setback in Fire Bill

(Bloomberg) -- San Francisco’s bid to buy a piece of bankrupt PG&E Corp. is about to get a lot more complicated.

Some last-minute changes to a bill making its way through California’s legislature would subject a takeover by the city to an extensive review by state utility regulators. While San Francisco hasn’t decided whether to make a multibillion-dollar offer for PG&E’s local wires, Mayor London Breed was quick to call the measure “unnecessary” and urged lawmakers to strike it from the legislation. Also worth noting: The mayors of nearby San Jose and Oakland joined Breed in blasting the language.

Lawmakers crafted the bill, backed by California Governor Gavin Newsom and passed by the state’s Senate late Monday, to help utilities cover the mounting liabilities from wildfires that their equipment keeps igniting -- damages that forced PG&E into bankruptcy in January. It would, among other things, create a statewide fund to help them cover the costs. The legislation still needs to clear the state’s Assembly.

To contact the reporter on this story: David R. Baker in San Francisco at dbaker116@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net

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