PG&E Corp

This is a combined quarterly report of PG&E Corporation and the Utility and should be read in conjunction with each company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1. It should also be read in conjunction with the 2023 Form 10-K.

Key Factors Affecting Financial Results

PG&E Corporation and the Utility believe that their financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, and cash flows may be materially affected by the following factors:

•The Uncertainties in Connection with Wildfires, Wildfire Mitigation, and Associated Cost Recovery. PG&E Corporation’s and the Utility’s financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, and cash flows may be materially affected by the costs and effectiveness of the Utility’s wildfire mitigation initiatives; the extent of damages from wildfires that do occur; the financial impacts of wildfires; and PG&E Corporation’s and the Utility’s ability to mitigate those financial impacts with insurance, the Wildfire Fund, and regulatory recovery.

In response to the wildfire threat facing California, PG&E Corporation and the Utility have taken aggressive steps to mitigate the threat of catastrophic wildfires. The Utility’s wildfire mitigation initiatives include Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (“EPSS”), PSPS, vegetation management, asset inspections, and system hardening. In particular, in 2023, the Utility introduced or expanded its use of several measures including downed conductor detection, partial voltage force outs, and transmission operational controls. The Utility is also focused on undergrounding more lines each year while using economies of scale to make undergrounding more cost efficient. These initiatives have significantly reduced the number of CPUC-reportable ignitions and the number of acres burned. The success of the Utility’s wildfire mitigation efforts depends on many factors, including whether the Utility can retain or contract for the workforce necessary to execute its wildfire mitigation actions.

PG&E Corporation and the Utility have incurred and will continue to incur substantial expenditures in connection with these initiatives. For more information on incurred expenditures, see Note 3 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 1. The extent to which the Utility will be able to recover these expenditures and other potential costs through rates is uncertain. If additional requirements are imposed that go beyond current expectations, such requirements could have a substantial impact on the costs of the Utility’s wildfire mitigation initiatives.

The Utility is subject to a number of legal and regulatory requirements related to its wildfire mitigation efforts, which require periodic inspections of electric assets and ongoing reporting related to this work. Although the Utility believes that it has complied substantially with these requirements, it continually reviews and has identified instances of noncompliance. The Utility intends to update the CPUC and the OEIS as its review progresses. The Utility could face fines, penalties, enforcement action, or other adverse legal or regulatory consequences for late inspections or other noncompliance related to wildfire mitigation efforts. See “Self-Reports to the CPUC” in “Regulatory Matters” below.

Despite these extensive measures, the potential that the Utility’s equipment will be involved in the ignition of future wildfires, including catastrophic wildfires, is significant. This risk may be attributable to, and exacerbated by, a variety of factors, including climate (in particular, extended periods of seasonal dryness coupled with periods of high wind velocities and other storms), infrastructure, and vegetation conditions. Once an ignition has occurred, the Utility is unable to control the extent of damages, which is primarily determined by environmental conditions (including weather and vegetation conditions), third-party suppression efforts, and the location of the wildfire.

The financial impact of past wildfires is significant. As of March 31, 2024, PG&E Corporation and the Utility had recorded aggregate liabilities of $1.125 billion, $400 million, $1.6 billion, and $100 million for claims in connection with the 2019 Kincade fire, the 2020 Zogg fire, the 2021 Dixie fire, and the 2022 Mosquito fire, respectively, and in each case before available insurance, and, in the case of the 2021 Dixie fire and the 2022 Mosquito fire, other probable cost recoveries. These liability amounts correspond to the lower end of the range of reasonably estimable probable losses, with the exception of amounts relating to the 2020 Zogg fire, which represent the best estimate of the liability, but do not include all categories of potential damages and losses.

PG&E Corporation and the Utility may be able to mitigate the financial impact of future wildfires in excess of insurance coverage through the Wildfire Fund, or cost recovery through rates. Each of these mitigations involves uncertainties, and liabilities could exceed available recoveries. See “Loss Recoveries” in Note 10 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 1.

Recorded liabilities in connection with the 2019 Kincade fire and the 2021 Dixie fire have exceeded potential amounts recoverable under applicable insurance policies. As of March 31, 2024, the Utility has recorded insurance receivables of $430 million for the 2019 Kincade fire, $374 million for the 2020 Zogg fire, $526 million for the 2021 Dixie fire, and $68 million for the 2022 Mosquito fire.

If the eligible claims for liabilities arising from wildfires were to exceed $1.0 billion in any Wildfire Fund coverage year (“Coverage Year”), the Utility may be eligible to make a claim against the Wildfire Fund under AB 1054 for such excess amount. The Wildfire Fund is available to the Utility to pay eligible claims for liabilities arising from wildfires, provided that the Utility satisfies the conditions to the Utility’s ongoing participation in the Wildfire Fund set forth in AB 1054 and that the Wildfire Fund has sufficient remaining funds. However, the impact of AB 1054 on PG&E Corporation and the Utility is subject to numerous uncertainties, including the Utility’s ability to demonstrate to the CPUC that wildfire-related costs paid from the Wildfire Fund were just and reasonable and therefore not subject to reimbursement, and whether the benefits of participating in the Wildfire Fund ultimately outweigh its substantial costs. Finally, recoveries for the 2019 Kincade fire would be subject to a 40% limitation on the allowed amount of claims arising before emergence from bankruptcy. As of March 31, 2024, the Utility has recorded a Wildfire Fund receivable of $600 million for the 2021 Dixie fire. See “Wildfire Fund under AB 1054” in Note 10 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 1.

The Utility will be permitted to recover its wildfire-related claims in excess of insurance and legal fees through rates unless the CPUC or the FERC, as applicable, determines that the Utility has not met the applicable prudency standard. The revised prudency standard under AB 1054 has not been interpreted or applied by the CPUC, and it is possible that the CPUC could interpret the standard or apply it to the relevant facts differently from how the Utility has interpreted and applied the standard, in which case the Utility may not be able to recover all or a portion of expenses that it has recorded as receivables. As of March 31, 2024, the Utility has recorded receivables for regulatory recovery of $576 million for the 2021 Dixie fire and $60 million for the 2022 Mosquito fire. See “2021 Dixie Fire,” and “2022 Mosquito Fire” in Note 10 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 1 for more information.

•The Timing and Outcome of Ratemaking and Other Proceedings. Regulatory ratemaking proceedings are a key aspect of the Utility’s business. The Utility’s revenue requirements consist primarily of a base amount set to enable the Utility to recover its reasonable operating expenses (e.g., maintenance, administrative and general expenses) and capital costs (e.g., depreciation and financing expenses). The CPUC also authorizes the Utility to collect revenues to recover costs that the Utility is allowed to pass through to customers, including its costs to procure electricity and natural gas for customers and to administer public purpose and customer programs. Although the Utility generally seeks to recover its recorded costs on a timely basis, in recent years, the amount of the costs recorded in memorandum and balancing accounts has increased. Other proceedings that could impact the Utility’s business profile and financial results include actions by municipalities and other public entities to acquire the electric assets of the Utility within their respective jurisdictions, and the Utility’s application to transfer its non-nuclear generation assets to Pacific Generation and potentially sell a minority interest in Pacific Generation. The outcome of regulatory proceedings can be affected by many factors, including intervening parties’ testimonies, potential rate impacts, the regulatory and political environments, and other factors. See Notes 3 and 11 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 1, and “Regulatory Matters” below.

•PG&E Corporation’s and the Utility’s Ability to Control Operating and Financing Costs. Under cost-of-service ratemaking, a utility’s earnings depend on its ability to manage costs within the amounts authorized for recovery in its ratemaking proceedings. The Utility has set a goal to increase its capital investments to meet safety and climate goals, while also achieving operating cost savings. The Utility plans to achieve such savings by improving the planning and execution of its work through increased efficiencies, including waste elimination through the Lean operating system. PG&E Corporation and the Utility also work to minimize financing costs by identifying and executing on opportunities to efficiently finance the business, which depends on capital market conditions.

For more information about the risks that could materially affect PG&E Corporation’s and the Utility’s financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, and cash flows, or that could cause future results to differ from historical results, see Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Form 10-Q and the 2023 Form 10-K and “Forward-Looking Statements” above for a list of some of the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially.

Tax Matters

PG&E Corporation had a U.S. federal net operating loss carryforward of approximately $32.9 billion and a California net operating loss carryforward of approximately $32.6 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Under Section 382 of the IRC, if a corporation (or a consolidated group) undergoes an “ownership change,” net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may be subject to certain limitations. In general, an ownership change occurs if the aggregate stock ownership of certain shareholders (generally five percent shareholders, applying certain look-through and aggregation rules) increases by more than 50% over such shareholders’ lowest percentage ownership during the testing period (generally three years). PG&E Corporation’s and the Utility’s Amended Articles limit Transfers (as defined in the Amended Articles) that increase a person’s or entity’s (including certain groups of persons) ownership of PG&E Corporation’s equity securities to 4.75% or more prior to the Restriction Release Date (as defined in the Amended Articles) without approval by the Board of Directors of PG&E Corporation. Shares of PG&E Corporation common stock held directly by the Utility are attributed to PG&E Corporation for income tax purposes and are therefore effectively excluded from the total number of outstanding equity securities when calculating a person’s Percentage Stock Ownership (as defined in the Amended Articles) for purposes of the 4.75% ownership limitation in the Amended Articles. For example, although PG&E Corporation had 2,614,901,996 shares outstanding as of April 17, 2024, only 2,137,158,406 shares (the number of outstanding shares of common stock less the number of shares held directly by the Utility) count as outstanding for purposes of the ownership restrictions in the Amended Articles. As such, a person’s effective Percentage Stock Ownership limitation for purposes of the Amended Articles as of April 17, 2024 was 3.88% of PG&E Corporation’s outstanding shares.

As of the date of this report, it is more likely than not that PG&E Corporation has not undergone an ownership change, and consequently, its net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes are not limited by Section 382 of the IRC.