PG&E CEO Patti Poppe | Katherine Blunt “California Burning”
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Patti Poppe at a weekly Wildfire risk Command Center meeting at PG&E in San Ramon, Aug. 23, 2022.
Vicki Gonzalez / CapRadio
PG&E CEO Patti Poppe joins us to discuss the challenges she inherited from the troubled utility and her vision for regaining the trust of millions of customers in California. We’ll also speak to Wall Street Journal reporter, and author Katherine Blunt about the progress PG&E has made and the challenges the utility still faces.
Patti Poppe and Katherine Blunt
PG&E is the largest utility company in the country, with a service footprint from the Oregon border to Bakersfield, serving roughly 40% of California's population. Insight spoke with PG&E's CEO Patti Poppe about inheriting a utility giant connected to deadly wildfires and power safety shut-offs, all while emerging from federal probation and bankruptcy. She addressed these challenges and shared her vision and investments to improve safety and restore trust. At the end of the episode, Insight invited Katherine Blunt, who covers renewable energy and utilities at the Wall Street Journal and is the author of a new book, "California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric and What it Means for America's Power Grid." Blunt discusses the progress since Poppe has taken over and the biggest challenges the company still faces.