PG&E seeks $10.9 million in bonuses for execs amid wildfire woes, bankruptcy

Jun. 20--PG&E is seeking several million dollars in bonuses for key executives, despite its financial woes that triggered a bankruptcy linked to a string of lethal wildfires and other debts, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday from the utility.

The request to pay nearly $11 million in bonuses would require approval by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court where PG&E is enmeshed in a Chapter 11 proceeding to restructure its shattered finances. PG&E's effort to provide a dozen key executives with the special incentives was revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

"The key employee incentive program was developed with the assistance of the advisors of PG&E to provide incentive-based compensation to the participants based on near-term safety, operational and financial goals," PG&E said in the filing.

The bonuses are expected to cost an estimated $10.9 million, PG&E said in the regulatory documents.

William "Bill" Johnson, who was named PG&E's chief executive officer, isn't eligible for the key employee incentive program.

PG&E sought bankruptcy protection on Jan. 29 to ward off a menacing mountain of liabilities and wildfire-linked claims in a Chapter 11 proceeding that listed $51.69 billion in debts.

Deadly blazes in both 2017 and 2018 have been directly linked to PG&E's equipment as the principal cause of the infernos.

In October 2017, a series of fatal wildfires torched the North Bay Wine Country and nearby regions. State fire investigators have determined that PG&E's equipment caused 17 of these blazes.

In November 2018, a wildfire roared through Butte County and essentially destroyed the town of Paradise. This disaster, nicknamed the Camp Fire, killed 85. State experts have determined that PG&E's equipment caused the Butte County fire.

PG&E also is a convicted felon after a federal jury in 2016 found the company guilty for crimes it committed before and after a fatal explosion that killed eight people and destroyed a San Bruno neighborhood in 2010.

The company said 50 percent of the bonuses will be paid with cash and 50 percent with restricted stock, the SEC document stated.

"Actual payouts will depend on performance achieved in 2019," PG&E said in the filing.

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