Berkeley

Green Energy Could be a Casualty as PG&E Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Published

7 years ago

January 23, 2019

Gas and electricity consumers won’t notice immediate changes from PG&E when the Northern California behemoth files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the face of liability problems from back-to-back historic fires.

Longer term, however, both consumers and environmentalists might be in for rocky rides as PG&E attempts to weather the storm.

“For now, no one will see much new with their electric bill,” Severin Borenstein, faculty director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, says. “In the longer run, though, people may be looking at a lot of uncertainty.”

That’s particularly true in the area of green energy. California is a leader in efforts to try to turn the tide of climate change. PG&E has been part of that, but now figures to be sidelined.

“This is not good for California climate policy,” Borenstein says. “Once the company is in bankruptcy, which is likely by the end of the month, it will be put in the hands of a bankruptcy judge. And it would be no surprise if the bankruptcy judge just says, ‘Climate issues are not my problem.’ “

So, issues having to do with solar power, electric vehicles and other green energy platforms suddenly have the potential to be pushed to the side. PG&E will have much less flexibility to act once it enters bankruptcy. The judge will have to sign off on any new initiative, any expansion, any response to concerns put forward by the governor or legislature and any changes in programs.

Investigators determined that PG&E equipment contributed to 18 of 21 major fires in Cali fornia in 2017, and are looking closely at electrical equipment as a culprit in last year’s fires. Two areas of investigation are whether the failure to trim trees near power lines and equipment failure caused or contributed to many of the fires in the northern half of the state.

As a result, the company has seen the value of its stock and its credit rating both take dives while lawsuits begin to mount.

In the end, there may be no more PG&E as such, Borenstein says. Even before the bankruptcy filing, he says, there was talk of splitting the company up and separating out the gas division from the electricity side.

“There were already questions about whether PG&E could continue in its current form doing both gas and electric,” Borenstein says. “And there was talk about whether the electric side of the company should be broken down into small regions, and whether those smaller bits should be investor-owned or municipal-owned, where the government actually owns the utility. Those questions will accelerate.

“I think what it means is that it’s time for the state to step up and play a role. It was already headed in that direction, and this will accelerate things. The courts and the legal process will work on a reorganization of the company. I don’t think the state has settled on what it wants to do, and rightly. I think they should take their time. These are huge decisions.”

There is a chance, Borenstein says, that PG&E could be taken over as an arm of some government organization, although “I am not aware of any utility being made into a public entity as a whole.” A few years ago there was a move to have SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District) take over a small part of PG&E’s territory, but it ultimately did not succeed.

No matter what the ultimate outcome, it’s going to be a long journey. Any smaller bits the company is broken into would have to be valued, the funds would have to be raised and creditors would have to enter the negotiations.

“Nothing will happen in weeks or months,” Borenstein says. “This will only happen over many years.”

John Hickey

Posts by John Hickey

Bay Area

UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

4 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh

The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Published

10 months ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Farwest Regional Director, Kimberly Usher, Mayor Barbara Lee, US Representative Lateefah Simon, and Farwest Regional Representative, Radiya Ajibade. Photo courtesy of Farwest Regional Photographer Vicki P. Love.

By Antoinette Porter

Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.

Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.

Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.

A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Cal Performances Presents Angélique Kidjo & Yo-Yo Ma in Sarabande Africaine at UC Berkeley Greek Theatre on Aug. 30

On Saturday, Aug. 30, the pair will debut the Bay Area premiere of Sarabande Africaine, joined by pianist Thierry Vaton, percussionist David Donatien, and special guest Sinkane. The program illuminates centuries of musical interplay between African traditions and Western classical forms, using the Baroque sarabande dance, and its African ancestor, the Congolese spirit dance Zarabanda, as a gateway to exploring the deep, interconnected roots of global music.

Published

10 months ago

August 25, 2025

Oakland Post

Angelique Kidjo and Yo-Yo Ma. Wikimedia photos.

By Carla Thomas

On Labor Day weekend two of the world’s most celebrated musicians and cultural ambassadors, Grammy Award–winning vocalist Angélique Kidjo and legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma join forces for an evening of music, history, and cultural dialogue at UC Berkeley’s historic Hearst Greek Theatre.

Both Kidjo and Ma have built careers not only as great performers but as passionate advocates for cultural understanding. Sarabande Africaine is as much a conversation about shared heritage as it is a musical performance, blending genres, geographies, and histories.

“Every day there are moments when all of us can feel we are on the inside of something and also when we feel we are on the outside of something,” said Yo-Yo Ma. “To be able to understand both at the same time and oscillate between the two gives us a larger perspective on the world.”

“If your mind is open, and there is no fear, it’s easier to listen, and to question yourself,” said Kidjo.

The upcoming performance is presented within Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Exile & Sanctuary” series for the 2025–26 season. The production explores exile as more than just physical displacement, but a disruption in identity and belonging, while sanctuary represents both refuge and the creative space where new connections and communities can take shape.

Cal Performances’ Illuminations bridges performances with UC Berkeley’s academic research, pairing the arts with conversations about urgent global issues.

Kidjo’s continued partnership with Cal Performances includes her 2021–22 artist-in-residence, premiering her music-theater work Yemandja, set in 19th-century West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade.

She also participated in the Bias in Our Algorithms and Society panel alongside campus leaders like Jennifer Chayes, and joined the Black Studies Collaboratory for a dialogue on music, diaspora, and the world.

She has since returned to Berkeley for multiple performances, most recently in 2024 at Zellerbach Hall.

Yo-Yo Ma’s history with Cal Performances spans decades, beginning in 1997. One notable project includes the 2018 performance of Bach’s complete cello suites at the Greek Theatre, a testament to his devotion to creating “transformative concert experiences in iconic spaces.”

For tickets and more information, visit calperformances.org.