Features

—Incorporated: 1905, in California 

—Lost creditworthiness: Jan. 16, 2001 

—Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection: April 6, 2001 

—Debts: Claims it owes $13.2 billion to thousands of creditors. 

—Top 5 creditors: 

The Bank of New York, $2.2 billion 

California Power Exchange, $1.9 billion 

Bankers Trust Co., $1.3 billion 

California Independent System Operator, $1.1 billion 

Bank of America, $938 million 

—Customers: 4.6 million natural gas and electric customers; 14 million Californians served 

—Territory: 70,000 square miles throughout Northern and Central California 

—Employees: 18,400 

—Plan for reorganization: 

Would transfer $8.3 billion in assets to its parent corporation to create three new, federally regulated subsidiaries. 

Assets include: Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, other power plants, electricity and natural gas transmission systems, hydroelectric dams and hundreds of thousands of acres of Sierra Nevada lands. 

PG&E would borrow against those assets to raise $4.35 billion to help pay its debts. After the transfers, PG&E estimates its utility would be worth $9.5 billion. 

ETrans, the proposed electricity transmission subsidiary, would be worth $1.6 billion. GTrans, the proposed gas transmission subsidiary, would be worth $1.4 billion. Gen, the proposed electricity generating subsidiary, would be worth $5.3 billion. 

These new subsidiaries would assume significant amounts of the utility’s debt: ETrans, $1.1 billion; GTrans, $900 million; Gen, $2.4 billion. 

The plan must be approved by its creditors, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and potentially the state of California before it can go into action.