PG&E; Utility Still in the Red

Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which is operating under bankruptcy protection, continued to lose money in April, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

California’s largest investor-owned utility said it made $678 million that month and had operating expenses of $684 million, for an operating loss of $6 million. After it paid interest income and taxes, the company lost $44 million.

Expenses included the estimated amount it collected and owes the state Department of Water Resources for power the agency purchased on the utility’s behalf, the filing said.

PG&E; Corp.’s utility filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early April with about $9 billion in losses from buying electricity at soaring prices it couldn’t pass to consumers.

PG&E; Corp. had a first-quarter loss of $951 million, or $2.62 a share, after taking a $1.1-billion charge for power-buying debt. PG&E; also lost money in the fourth quarter after taking a $4.1-billion power-buying charge.

The SEC filing didn’t include any charges from the California Independent System Operator. Cal-ISO has billed Pacific Gas $1.2 billion for electricity purchased on the spot market in the first three months of this year, company spokesman Ron Low said.