California power regulators unexpectedly delayed a key vote Thursday on Pacific Gas & Electric’s plan for getting out of bankruptcy after saying one of the utility’s most outspoken critics sent an improper email attacking the company’s proposal to pay wildfire victims.
California Public Utilities Commission President Marybel Batjer was irked by the need to postpone the vote because of the email sent Tuesday by Will Abrams, a survivor of a 2017 wildfire that tore through his Santa Rosa hometown.
The communication came during a mandated quiet period from May 15 through Thursday involving the vote on PG&E’s $58 billion plan for ending its nearly year-and-a-half-old bankruptcy. The vote was delayed until May 28, which coincides with a federal bankruptcy court trial on the plan.