Dive Brief:

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to expedite Pacific Gas & Electric's bankruptcy proceeding. He has called for a meeting this week between state officials, the utility, its creditors and shareholders and wildfire victims, to "accelerate a consensual resolution."
• "All options are on the table," according to the governor, should PG&E fail to develop a reorganization plan by a June 30 statutory deadline. That could include a state-led restructuring of the utility.
• The utility's Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) have left millions in the dark and enraged the state, but officials say they are a necessary tool in order to avoid sparking new wildfires.

Dive Insight:

San Francisco wanted to buy a piece of PG&E and San Jose floated a coordinated purchase with other municipalities. Now California's state government is mulling the idea as well.

"If the parties fail to reach an agreement quickly to begin this process of transformation, the state will not hesitate to step in and restructure the utility," Newsom wrote in a Medium post outlining his ideas.

Newsom selected Cabinet Secretary Ana Matosantos to serve as California's energy czar and lead a team that will "game out every option and prepare a plan should the state need to intervene."

PG&E officials in a statement said they "welcome the governor's and the state's engagement on these vital matters and share the same goal of fairly resolving the wildfire claims and exiting the Chapter 11 process as quickly as possible."

The utility in the past has rebuffed overtures to purchase its electric system. The Associated Press said Newsom's office mentioned the U.S. government's purchase of General Motors during its bankruptcy a decade ago as possible precedent for the idea. But the utility is still working to develop a plan of reorganization by a summer deadline.

PG&E filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, citing billions in wildfire liabilities. The California Public Utilities Commission has launched a formal proceeding to consider "ratemaking and other implications" of its proposed plan of reorganization. The utility must finalize a plan by to meet the requirements of AB 1054 in order to participate in the California wildfire fund, which aims to help utilities address fire costs.