PG&E can't afford to pay out $2.55 billion to victims of the San Bruno gas line fire, the utility's CEO said on Thursday, disputing an analyst's estimate.
At a press conference, CEO Anthony Earley dismissed the figure, which, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, came from a consultant hired by the Public Utilities Commission.
The utility has no way to raise that much money, he said.
"As an investor would you give me money that I was going to turn around and have to give away with no possibility of A - getting a return on that or - B - even getting that money back?"
He said PG&E has set aside $200 million to cover fines related to the pipeline blast and fire that killed eight people in 2010.