EDITORS: Please do not use
"Pacific Gas and Electric" or "PG&E" when
referring to PG&E Corporation or its National Energy Group.
The PG&E National Energy Group is not the same company as Pacific
Gas and Electric Company, the utility, and is not regulated by the
California Public Utilities Commission. Customers of Pacific Gas
and Electric Company do not have to buy products or services from
the National Energy Group in order to continue to receive quality
regulated services from Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
CHAPTER 11
UPDATE: PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY RECEIVES COURT APPROVAL
TO SETTLE CERTAIN CLAIMS
Settled Claims Would Be
Paid Pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization
SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific
Gas and Electric Company today received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court to proceed with the investigation, negotiation and settlement
of certain pre-petition claims, including all of those under $100,000.
The Court's order allows the utility to settle the amounts at which
the claims will be allowed, but does not authorize payment of any
such claim. Settled claims would be paid pursuant to the plan of
reorganization.
Approximately 12,800 claims
have been filed, with about 80 percent of them for less than $100,000
and the remaining 20 percent for amounts in excess of $100,000.
The utility received authority to resolve the following categories
of claims without seeking review and approval for settlements reached
from either the Official Creditors' Committee or the Bankruptcy
Court:
-
Claims where the allowed
amount settled on is $100,000 or less.
-
Certain claims where
the proposed allowed amount exceeds $100,000, but is no more
than $5 million, and is the lesser of (a) 110 percent of the
amount of such claim as scheduled by PG&E in the Amended and
Restated Schedules, and (b) $500,000 more than the amount of
such claim as set forth on the Schedules. (For example, where
the Scheduled Amount of a claim is $4 million, and the creditor
has filed a proof of claim for $5 million, if the parties reach
a settlement whereby the claim would be allowed at $4.4 million,
no Court, United States Trustee or Committee review would be
required.)
Where PG&E and the
claimant cannot reach a mutually agreeable settlement, the Court
will resolve the claim.
The Court also approved
the utility's request to object to groups of claims on the basis
that they are, for example, duplicative, late-filed or have been
paid, without waiving its right to assert additional objections
to the same claims, if necessary.
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