FILE PHOTO: A PG&E; truck carrying an American Flag drives past PG&E; repair trucks in Paradise, California, U.S. November 21, 2018. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

(Reuters) - PG&E; Corp was unable to reach a deal with NextEra Energy Inc and other companies with which it has billions of dollars in power contracts in a jurisdictional dispute over the bankrupt utility’s ability to walk away from or amend those agreements, according to court documents.

The matter will now be decided by the judge overseeing PG&E;’s bankruptcy “in the coming weeks,” according to the documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday.

At issue is whether the bankruptcy court or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over the power purchase contracts, which are worth up to $42 billion.

San Francisco-based PG&E; wants the matter resolved in bankruptcy court, while NextEra and others want FERC involved. FERC has said it has “concurrent jurisdiction” with the bankruptcy court in such matters.

The contracts have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in PG&E;’s bankruptcy, which the company launched in January in the face of tens of billions of dollars in potential liability stemming from wildfires in California in recent years that may be traced to its equipment.

The question of what will happen to the power contracts is critical for California’s goal to source 60% of its power from sources of renewable energy by 2030. Most of the power contracts in question are for solar or wind resources to fulfill the state mandate.

“PG&E; recognizes its important role in supporting the state’s commitment to clean energy initiatives and remains committed to continuing to help California achieve its bold clean energy goals,” the company said in an emailed statement.

“We appreciate the concerns from stakeholders across the state concerning the impact that Chapter 11 filing could have on the state’s clean energy progress. PG&E; has made no decisions as to whether to assume or reject contracts as part of filing for Chapter 11.”

Officials from NextEra were not immediately available for comment.Last month, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali urged the companies and PG&E; to try to reach an agreement by a May 3 deadline. In the court papers made public on Friday, they said they were unable to reach an agreement. </s> SAN FRANCISCO — The Latest on PG&E bankruptcy filing (all times local):

The largest utility in the U.S. has filed for bankruptcy as it faces billions of dollars in potential damages from wildfires in California.

Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. filed documents in a U.S. court Tuesday seeking Chapter 11 reorganization. The move comes despite state investigators determining last week that the utility's equipment was not to blame for a 2017 fire that killed 22 people in Northern California wine country.

The company cited hundreds of lawsuits from victims of that blaze and others in 2017 and 2018 when it announced this month that it planned to file for bankruptcy.

It's already facing lawsuits over a November blaze in the town of Paradise that killed at least 86 people and destroyed 15,000 homes, though its cause is still under investigation.

California regulators are poised to remove a major hurdle to a planned bankruptcy filing by Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Monday at a hastily announced meeting to allow PG&E to immediately obtain credit and loans while it's under Chapter 11. PG&E normally needs to go through a lengthy approval process for such financing. Monday's decision exempted it from that requirement.

PG&E announced earlier this month that it will file for bankruptcy in the face of billions of dollars in potential damages from catastrophic wildfires in California in 2017 and 2018.

The company later said it had lined up $5.5 billion in credit and loans that would allow it to continue operating in bankruptcy.

California regulators are poised for a bankruptcy declaration by the nation's largest utility as it faces billions of dollars in potential damages from wildfires in the state.

Pacific Gas and Electric Corp. had said the decision could come Tuesday. The California Public Utilities Commission scrambled ahead of the deadline to ensure PG&E would have financing that the company says it would need to continue providing electric and gas service under Chapter 11.

The four members of the commission voted unanimously Monday at a raucous, hastily announced meeting to exempt PG&E from a longer approval process for bankruptcy credit and loans.

The decision cleared a major obstacle to the company's planned bankruptcy filing, but also likely set off a yearslong court battle. </s> (Reuters) - PG&E Corp was unable to reach a deal with NextEra Energy Inc and other companies with which it has billions of dollars in power contracts in a jurisdictional dispute over the bankrupt utility’s ability to walk away from or amend those agreements, according to court documents.

The matter will now be decided by the judge overseeing PG&E’s bankruptcy “in the coming weeks,” according to the documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday.

Officials from PG&E and NextEra were not immediately available for comment.

At issue is whether the bankruptcy court or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over the power purchase contracts, which are worth up to $42 billion.

San Francisco-headquartered PG&E wants the matter resolved in bankruptcy court, while NextEra and others want FERC involved. FERC has said it has “concurrent jurisdiction” with the bankruptcy court in such matters.

The contracts have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in PG&E’s bankruptcy, which the company launched in January in the face of tens of billions of dollars in potential liability stemming from wildfires in California in recent years that may be traced to its equipment.

The question of what will happen to the power contracts is critical for California’s goal to source 60 percent of its power from sources of renewable energy by 2030. Most of the power contracts in question are for solar or wind resources to fulfill the state mandate.

Last month, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali urged the companies and PG&E to try to reach an agreement by a May 3 deadline. In the court papers made public on Friday, they said they were unable to reach an agreement. </s> PG&E (NYSE:PCG) was unable to strike a deal with NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) and other companies with which it has power contracts in a dispute over the bankrupt utility's ability to walk away from or amend those agreements, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The matter will now be decided by the judge overseeing PG&E's bankruptcy "in the coming weeks," court documents say.

At issue is whether the bankruptcy court or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over the power purchase contracts, which are worth as much as $42B.

Most of the power contracts in question are for solar or wind resources to fulfill California's mandate to source 60% of its power from renewable energy source by 2030.

PG&E wants the matter resolved in bankruptcy court, while NEE and others want FERC involved. </s> PG&E Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as it struggles with billions of dollars in potential liabilities from its role in sparking California wildfires, triggering one of the most complex corporate reorganization cases in years.

California’s largest utility, which provides natural gas and electric service to 16 million people, sought protection under chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. The process to restructure its debts is expected to be protracted, involving state and federal regulators, with wide-ranging... </s> Law360 (May 3, 2019, 5:01 PM EDT) -- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is standing by its decision that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. must get its blessing before shedding any wholesale power purchase agreements in Chapter 11 bankruptcy,...

To view the full article, register now. </s> Recently the Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s profits took a significant hit because of it's alleged role in causing Californian wildfires and the company’s associated decision to file for bankruptcy protection. Net profits fell by 69 percent to $136 million, down from $442 million a year earlier.The company also owes billions to other companies for power services. In relation to these contracts, PG&E has been unable to reach a deal with NextEra Energy Inc. and other firms. This relates to a jurisdictional dispute over the PG&E's ability to walk away from or amend these agreements, and whether these should be heard by the bankruptcy court (which PG&E favor) or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (which NextEra Energy favors).The impact upon the company and the businesses and households it serves is considerable. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to most of the northern two-thirds of California. This amounts to 5.2 million households The current issues affecting the company date to In November 2018 when PG&E was sued in the San Francisco County Superior Court by multiple victims of the Camp Fire, which is the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. The fire caused at least 85 civilian fatalities Investigations suggest that PG&E powerline failures during high winds caused the fire. The powerlines had various issues relating to their maintenance and one charge leveled at PG&E is that they did not switched off the powerlines good time under conditions of high winds.Currently the cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, PG&E have acknowledged that they sent an "electric incident report" to the California Public Utilities Commission indicating a power failure on a transmission line on November 8, some 15 minutes before the fire was first reported close to the location where the fire began . Due to its likely liability, in January 2019 PG&E began the process of filing for bankruptcy As part of the bankruptcy process PG&E Corp has attempted to reach deals with those companies that it owes considerable sums of money to, like NextEra Energy Inc. These attempts at settlements, which amount to billions of dollars, have not been successful. This means, within the next few weeks, this matter will now be decided by the judge overseeing PG&E’s bankruptcy case. The case is set to continue. </s> Pacific Gas and Electric has filed for bankruptcy protection after coming under pressure from billions of dollars in claims tied to deadly wildfires.

California’s largest power company said in a statement Tuesday that it had submitted a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the Northern District of California.

PG&E said it was committed to maintaining services for customers during the bankruptcy process.

John Simon, the company’s Interim CEO, said he would work “to create a more sustainable foundation for the delivery of safe, reliable and affordable service.”

“We have heard the calls for change and we are determined to take action throughout this process to build the energy system our customers want and deserve,” he said in the statement.

PG&E has been linked to a series of wildfires in California, including the Camp Fire, which caused 86 deaths and destroyed 14,000 homes, along with more than 500 businesses and 4,300 other buildings.

PG&E announced on January 14 that it intended to file for bankruptcy, but it had to wait 15-day period required by California law.

The company needs to use the bankruptcy process — which will allow it to shed some of its debt — to pay for damages and stay in business.

PG&E said Tuesday it was seeking approval for a $5.5 billion debtor-in-possession financing agreement. Previously, it said in a filing that it has only about $1.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand.

The company has cited at least $7 billion in claims from the Camp Fire. It is believed that the Camp Fire was started when a PG&E power line came in contact with nearby trees.

PG&E reported “an outage” on a transmission line in the area where the blaze began, about 15 minutes before it started. Within the massive burn area, PG&E found power equipment and a fallen power pole riddled with bullet holes, according to a letter it sent to regulators. The company also reported that it found a downed line with tree branches on it.

In addition, a series of wildfires in 2017 — many of which were also blamed on PG&E — caused $10 billion in damages and 44 deaths. In 11 of those fires, state investigators found the company violated codes regarding brush clearance near its power lines or had made related violations. </s> PG&E Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as it struggles with billions of dollars in potential liabilities from its role in sparking California wildfires, triggering one of the most complex corporate reorganization cases in years.

California's largest utility, which provides natural gas and electric service to 16 million people, sought protection under chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. The process to restructure its debts is expected to be protracted, involving state and federal regulators, with wide-ranging implications for utility customers, fire victims, shareholders and wholesale power providers.

PG&E telegraphed earlier this month that it planned to file for bankruptcy, complying with a recently enacted state law that requires it to provide a 15-day notice before taking that step.

The company said earlier this month that it faces about 750 complaints on behalf of at least 5,600 fire victims who allege damages caused by PG&E equipment, and estimated that its fire-related liabilities could ultimately exceed $30 billion.

Write to Katherine Blunt at Katherine.Blunt@wsj.com and Russell Gold at russell.gold@wsj.com
Documents filed in a United States bankruptcy court indicate that the bankrupt utility company Pacific Gas & Electric has not been able to reach a settlement with its creditors over billions of dollars it owes under power purchase contracts. PG&E wants the issue settled by the bankruptcy court rather than by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.