But instead of responding to "the obvious urgency," the bondholders said, PG&E has "wasted crucial time needlessly overhauling its board of directors to protect and entrench the parochial interests of an aggressive new subset of equity holders."
The filing says the plan would restore PG&E to financial health and help restore both its credit rating and those of the state's two other major utilities -- Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric.
The plan also emphasizes that it will be "rate neutral" for PG&E ratepayers, meaning customers will not be required to pay the cost of the reorganization.
As spelled out for Judge Montali in a 23-page term sheet, the bondholders proposed several different funds for paying those with wildfire-related legal claims against PG&E. The "capped amount" for each category:
- General wildfire claims: $5.45 billion
- General insurance company claims: $6.82 billion
- Tubbs Fire (Santa Rosa) claims: $570 million
- Tubbs Fire insurance company claims: $975 million
- Attorneys' fees and costs: $1.15 billion
The bondholders' filing calls the payments a "fair" resolution to PG&E's current wildfire liabilities -- an opinion not shared by attorneys for the thousands of people who suffered losses in the historic blazes that have swept Northern California in the past two years.
Those include last November's Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed nearly 14,000 homes in and around the Butte County town of Paradise, and the October 2017 fires that killed 44 people in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Yuba counties.
Steve Campora, a Sacramento attorney who is representing many wildfire plaintiffs, said the suggested balance between payments to victims and their insurance companies "made no sense." Under the plan, insurers stand to get $7.8 billion compared to about $6 billion for homeowners and other plaintiffs.
Campora said that "if history is any guide," victims ought to recover about triple the amount insurers receive in a settlement.
"These people didn't just lose property -- their homes, their tools, all the rest," he said. "They suffered other damages. They had to run for their lives. They lost loved ones. Some of them were burned."
Bloomberg reported last week that PG&E has begun circulating a reorganization plan that would include a $14 billion fund for past wildfire victims.
The bondholders cautioned in their Tuesday filing that their plan will require California regulators and lawmakers to take a series of steps.
For instance, the plan depends on the Legislature passing some for of wildfire insurance plan and other relief as outlined by Gov. Newsom last week. And funding for the proposal hinges on a "satisfactory conclusion" to a pending PG&E rate request before the California Public Utilities Commission.
In a statement circulated to several media organizations, PG&E said it is "committed to working together with our stakeholders through the Chapter 11 process to fairly and expeditiously resolve our liabilities resulting from the 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires, develop a more sustainable business model, and continue delivering safe and reliable service."
