PG&E plugs fast-rising executive Geisha Williams into CEO role
Williams, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant, is the first female, Hispanic CEO of a company PG&E’s size, said Tony Earley Jr., the current president and chief executive.
Williams will also have to continue monitoring the energy system’s safety and repairing the public trust that was severely shaken by the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion, which took eight lives, destroyed dozens of homes and cost the company millions of dollars.
Wall Street will also look to Williams to continue the San Francisco company’s move toward renewable energy, Miller said, especially when it comes to growing demand for once-niche energy services like charging stations for electric cars.
Williams joined PG&E in 2007 after a 24-year career at Florida Power & Light Co. She was promoted to her current role of president in 2015, after becoming executive vice president of electric operations in 2011.
The current president of the gas division of PG&E’s utility subsidiary, Nick Stavropoulos, will take on an expanded role there, becoming sole president and chief operating officer for both gas and electric.
In his new role, Stavropoulos will effectively take on Williams’ current responsibilities of managing the electric arm, as well as continued oversight of the gas business.
President-elect Donald Trump has openly favored relaxing clean-energy standards put in place by President Obama and removing the United States from the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change.
While that has raised questions of how energy distributors might be affected, his power to regulate utilities at the state level is limited.
More important for PG&E’s financial future under Williams will be how the utility continues to work with state regulators in California on clean-energy initiatives, Miller said, as well as replacing and maintaining its existing gas and electric systems.
On the gas side, the company has emphasized replacing large amounts of piping throughout PG&E’s aging system that pumps gas to California’s homes and businesses, Earley said.
PG&E reported earnings of $391 million, or 77 cents per share, for the third quarter Nov. 4, set back by millions in expenses related to the company’s early-August conviction on criminal charges stemming from the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosions.