Head of California Electric Utility Quits After Camp Fire Fallout
CAN’T STAND THE HEAT
The chief executive of California’s largest electric utility has quit as the company faces bankruptcy and possible criminal charges in the wake of last year’s deadly Camp Fire. Geisha Williams—the first Latina chief executive of a Fortune 500 company—has been in charge of Pacific Gas & Electric since March 2017. But the company was plunged into crisis after the Camp Fire killed at least 85 people in Northern California last year. A lawsuit against the company alleges the fire was started by broken steel rings atop a transmission tower that brought down dangerous live wires—Attorney General Xavier Becerra previously said the company could be prosecuted for murder. PG&E said Williams, 57, had also resigned from the company’s board of directors and the board of its holding company. John Simon, the utility’s executive vice president and general counsel, will serve as interim chief executive, the company said.