Top CA Utility Official Who Oversees PG&E Resigns

CALIFORNIA — California's top utility regulator announced Tuesday that she will resign at the end of this year, according to an email she sent to staffers just as devastating wildfires ramp up the potential for power blackouts.

"I write to inform you, after much thinking and reflection, that I have decided to conclude my service as President of the [California Public Utilities Comission] at the end of this year," Marybel Batjer, 65, wrote in her resignation email to staffers.

Batjer did not specify why she was leaving the commission several years early. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed her in 2019, and she was set to serve until the end of 2026.

During her time on the commission, she oversaw Pacific Gas & Electric Co. as it weathered bankruptcy proceedings and faced criminal charges related to wildfires that wrought destruction and killed residents in multiple counties over the last decade.

"This was a difficult decision, as I am so proud of the work we have done together in the face of a changing climate and global pandemic," she said.

As the state plunges into another possibly record-breaking fire season, Newsom will need to find another leader to fill her shoes by the end of the year. His selection must be approved by the state Legislature.

Batjer was a key player in the state's strategy to help PG&E — the state's largest and most beleaguered utility company — navigate 91 felony convictions and another 31 criminal charges filed Friday related to last year's deadly Zogg fire. The utility also faces allegations that it started the Dixie fire, which became the second-largest wildfire in state history this year.

The fire decimated the historic town of Greenville and charred more than 963,300 acres. The Dixie fire sparked on July 14, a day after the utility's repairman discovered flawed equipment.

The utility now faces four charges of manslaughter related to the devastating Zogg fire. The company's CEO, Patti Poppe, admitted that the utility was responsible for causing the fire but argued that the utility did not commit a crime.

"We’ve accepted CAL FIRE’s determination, reached earlier this year, that a tree contacted our electric line and started the Zogg Fire," Poppe said in a statement last week. "We accept that conclusion. But we did not commit a crime."

The utility is currently under the supervision of a federal judge who will oversee the company's criminal probation after its gas lines blew up a portion of a Bay Area neighborhood in 2010, The Associated Press reported.

"Batjer’s departure is an opportunity to appoint a utility regulator who will actually hold PG&E and other utilities accountable for their dirty energy choices and grid failures," Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Energy Justice Program, said in a statement, the AP reported.

Batjer, who lives in Sacramento, was reappointed to her seat on Dec. 20, 2020. Previously, she served as secretary of the Government Operations Agency from 2013 until her appointment to the Public Utilities Commission.

A Democrat, she has served four California governors in various positions since 1981.

"I am now ready for a new challenge and adventure," Batjer said in her resignation email to staff.

READ MORE: PG&E Says Its Equipment May Have Sparked NorCal Fire