After bankruptcy, PG&E headed back to court over wildfires

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will be back in a U.S. courtroom a day after filing for bankruptcy.

The nation’s largest utility will try to convince a judge at a hearing Wednesday not to order dramatic steps aimed at preventing its equipment from causing more wildfires.

U.S. Judge William Alsup is overseeing a criminal conviction against PG&E on pipeline safety charges stemming from a deadly gas line explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2010.

He proposed earlier this month as part of its probation that PG&E remove or trim all trees that could fall onto its power lines in high-wind conditions and shut off power at certain times. PG&E shot back in a court filing that the judge’s proposals would endanger lives and could cost as much as $150 billion.