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PG&E Has No Intention of Paying People for Blackout Right Now

California Governor had called on PG&E to refund residential customers affected $100 each and businesses $250 for the shutoff.

PG&E Has No Intention of Paying People for Blackout Right Now
A Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) employee watches as contractors clear trees away from the company’s power lines in Nevada City, California, U.S. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- The millions of Californians who were plunged into darkness during an unprecedented blackout last week shouldn’t expect a check in the mail from bankrupt utility giant PG&E Corp. anytime soon.

When asked by a state regulator on Friday whether the utility plans to pay back customers for the costs of the outage, PG&E utility chief Andrew Vesey said the company hasn’t “committed to making those reimbursements.” It’s not “our intention to undertake a reimbursement,” he said at a meeting in San Francisco.

California Governor Gavin Newsom had called on PG&E to refund residential customers affected $100 each and businesses $250 for the shutoff. Vesey said the company would be open to talking with regulators about the idea at a later date.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.net

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

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