Pacific Gas and Electric Company

The story begins not with a single visionary, but with a series of mergers consolidating California's early energy pioneers. The official Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) was formed on October 10, 1905, through the merger of the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company and the California Gas and Electric Corporation. This was orchestrated by figures like John Martin and Eugene de Sabla, who saw the potential in combining gas lighting with the new technology of hydroelectric power. The move gave them access to the vital San Francisco market and capital for expansion. By 1930, after acquiring competitors like the Great Western Power Company, PG&E had established a near-monopoly over gas and electric services in northern and central California. The company grew to become the nation's largest electric utility business by 1984. In 1997, the business restructured, creating PG&E Corporation as a holding company for the regulated utility and other non-regulated energy ventures. A significant turning point came in April 2001, when the utility filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid the California energy crisis. It emerged in 2004, but its challenges were far from over. In January 2019, facing staggering liabilities estimated at $30 billion from its equipment's role in catastrophic wildfires, including the 2018 Camp Fire, the company filed for bankruptcy a second time. PG&E emerged from this second bankruptcy in July 2020, embarking on a new chapter focused on safety and grid modernization.