PG&E stock price gets hammered as potential liabilities mount

PG&E faces criticism for keeping power on during California wildfire warning

California's largest power company was battered on Wall Street Monday following reports that it's considering filing for bankruptcy protection in the face of at least $30 billion in potential liability damages from a spate of wildfires.

Officials are investigating whether PG&E's equipment started the Camp wildfire in northern California that leveled the town of Paradise, killed at least 86 people and destroyed close to 15,000 homes. The $30 billion in potential damages doesn't include penalties, fines or punitive damages, CNBC reported.

The company has considered seeking financial shelter in bankruptcy court because of the potential liabilities, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources.

Separately, S&P slashed PG&E's credit rating to junk status as the utility grapples with the political and financial fallout from the costly and deadly wildfires. The ratings agency cut the company's key rate five notches to "B'' from "BBB-."

While no cause has been determined for California's Camp Fire, investigators are looking into the potential it was sparked by a malfunctioned line.

S&P says it could lower the rating "one or more notches over the next few months" if the company continues to face regulatory or financial turmoil.

PG&E declined comment.

Shares of San Francisco-based PG&E lost $5.45, or 22.3 percent, to close Monday at $18.95, the latest severe sell-off for the company since November and the outbreak of the state's deadliest recorded wildfires.

The company's stock has lost 60 percent of its value in the past three months.