PG&E announces new CEO and appoints 10 new board members

Fresno, CA — PG&E says it has appointed William "Bill" Johnson as CEO and President and has also appointed 10 new directors to its Board of Directors.

In its Twitter post, PG&E mentioned the new leadership will be focused on enhancing safety culture and operational excellence.

In statement by PG&E, the Board appointments will be effective as of the next in-person Board meeting.

The company says the changes in leadership Reflect PG&E's focus on strengthening its safety culture and operational effectiveness and successfully navigating the Company's Chapter 11 process."

For more on Bill Johnson, PG&E posted this about him on its website:

Bill Johnson is concluding a more than six-year tenure as President and CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), with responsibility for leading the nation’s largest publicly owned utility in its mission of providing energy, environmental stewardship and economic development across a seven-state region.

During Mr. Johnson’s time at TVA, the organization achieved the best safety records in its 85-year history and has been a perennial top decile safety performer in the utility industry. In that same period, Mr. Johnson led the retirement of more than half of TVA’s coal generation, resulting in a reduction of TVA’s carbon emissions by about 50% over the last decade. He was responsible for leading the generation of more than 50% of TVA’s energy from non-greenhouse gas emitting sources. He also oversaw TVA’s expansion into utility scale solar in recent years, with the addition of approximately 1,000 megawatts (mWs), and pursued the modernization of its hydro assets to increase the overall amount of renewable resources. TVA’s renewable portfolio includes almost 2,400 mWs of wind and solar and 5,800 mWs of hydro capacity.

Prior to his tenure at TVA, Mr. Johnson was the Chairman, President and CEO of Progress Energy. Throughout his career in the electric utility industry, Mr. Johnson has collaborated closely with elected officials and other community leaders to deliver safe and reliable electricity to millions of customers. The Board expects Mr. Johnson to begin his role in late April 2019.

The PG&E Board stated: “We are pleased to announce Bill Johnson as PG&E’s new Chief Executive Officer and President. Mr. Johnson brings substantial safety and operational expertise from his extensive career in the energy industry. With more than a decade of combined chief executive experience at two large utility companies, Mr. Johnson has a deep understanding of managing risk and the responsibility of keeping customers safe. Most recently, as President and CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority, he was responsible for leading the nation’s largest publicly owned utility in its mission of providing energy, environmental stewardship and economic development across a seven-state region. We believe Mr. Johnson is the right leader for PG&E as we work to strengthen our safety culture and navigate a complex and challenging period in our company’s history.”

Mr. Johnson said, “The 24,000 employees of PG&E are clearly dedicated to this state and are determined to provide safe, reliable, affordable and clean energy to 16 million Californians. I am humbled to take on this new challenge and am dedicated to meeting the high expectations that our customers, regulators and legislators have for PG&E. While the challenges facing PG&E and California are significant, by working together, we will overcome them to serve the best interests of our customers, their families and the communities we serve. This starts with a steadfast commitment to providing safe and reliable power.”

Reflecting his absolute commitment to safety, more than half of Mr. Johnson’s incentive compensation will be directly tied to safety performance and metrics, which PG&E believes significantly exceeds industry standards.

The PG&E Board continued, “We appreciate the calm and steady hand that John Simon demonstrated while serving as our interim CEO. Mr. Simon’s stewardship kept the Company focused on public safety and enabled the Board to conduct its refreshment process to address PG&E’s future needs.”