PG&E Wildfire Woes Brings Down Enenrgy Giants Like Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s Topaz Solar Farms To Junk Levels.

S&P Global Ratings brought down the rating of Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s Topaz Solar Farms which generates 550-megawatt, to junk. The reason was that the the plant's sole purchaser of the electricity being the PG&E Corp.
In line for similar or at least some negative fates are others who have similar or larger energy contracts. PG&E had more than 6 gigawatts of deals to buy wind and solar power from suppliers including Sempra Energy and Consolidated Edison Inc.
PG&E faces as much as $30 billion in potential liabilities from wildfires its equipment may have caused. PG&E seem to be never learned from past mistakes, like smaller and larger fires caused by it's power lines.
“The downgrades underscore PG&E’s clout in California’s power industry, and any potential threats to the company can have wide-reaching ripple effects,” S&P Global Ratings said in a statement.

S&P lowered ratings on Topaz Solar by five notches to ’B’ from ’BBB-’ and maintained the ratings on CreditWatch, meaning it may make further cuts.
Fitch has already cut its own ratings for the farm because of PG&E’s fire liabilities. Earlier on Thursday, Moody’s joined the rating companies downgrading PG&E’s own credit to junk.
The downgrade is just the latest indication that PG&E’s financial woes are spreading to the companies that supply its energy. Banks are also studying whether they’re willing to put assets into a geothermal project that supplies the utility, people familiar with the situation say, and some small natural gas suppliers are restricting sales to the company out of fear that they won’t get paid.
Bloomberg

SEPA award goes to PGandE for its solar energy programs, for the second time!

PGandE has interconnected more than 13,000 customers with solar generating systems to the power grid -- representing more than 100 megawatts and more than any other utility in the nation. In just the past 24 months, PGandE has interconnected nearly 4,000 customers representing 35 megawatts of solar power. PGandE has also provided more than $150 million in rebates to nearly 300 solar customers through the utility's self-generation incentive program, which helps offset the cost of installing solar and other forms of clean, on-site generation such as wind and fuel cells. And for all these work, an award from the Solar Electric Power Association.
his is the second time in two years that PGandE has received SEPA's Solar Business Achievement in the category of public awareness and industry leadership. This is also the first time SEPA has honored any company with a "repeat" award.
PGandE is hosting the Solar Power 2006 conference being held in San Jose from October 16 to 19. King made introductory remarks to welcome over 4,000 conference attendees, which I attended. I plan to attend next year as well.

Tags: SEPA, PGandE, solar energy, power grid