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Bloomberg
PG&E Corp’s financial pain is spreading to some of the power plants that sell it electricity. Fitch Ratings Ltd downgraded the debt of two solar farms in California, citing concern about PG&E’s finances.
The utility, which was downgraded last week, is the sole electricity customer for Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farms and NextEra Energy Inc’s 250-megawatt Genesis Solar.
The state’s biggest utility owner faces as much as $17.3 billion in potential liabilities for wildfires in 2017, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. If its equipment is found to be responsible for the deadly Camp Fire, which began on November 8, that may swell to $30 billion, some estimates show.
The downgrades underscore PG&E’s clout in California’s power industry, as well as any potential threats to the company can have wide-reaching ripple effects.