california 6 / 13 executive summary - cpuc rules that socal must pay 15 % of debt to qfs ( approximately $ 50 million ) - ruling heightens likelihood of voluntary bankruptcy filing by socal - voluntary filing further heightened by successful ring - fencing by eix parent - bankruptcy judge firm in support for qfs report 1 . socal loses cpuc ruling , but retains appeal option as you may have seen , bloomberg reported that the cpuc voted 5 - 0 to force socal to make 15 % of its payments owed to alternative energy producers in california . cpuc rules allow 30 days to appeal its rulings , leaving a window open for socal to buy more time . 2 . voluntary filing in ? with regard to a socal bankruptcy filing , the key now is how socal ' s board feels about progress rather than deadlines with creditors . in other words , sources believe that a voluntary filing is more likely than an involuntary filing . a continuing lack of progress on a bailout and an increase in the number of liens filed against socal is more likely to make the socal board want to file for bankrutpcy voluntarily . the recent ring - fencing by edison international reflects their need to pay off cross - default risk and to cut ties in their bank facility between the parent company and lines of credit helds by socal . in and of outself , it does not necessarily signal an imminent filing . 3 . involuntary out ? sources indicate that the unsecured financial creditors are not considering a filing against socal . this is because the financial creditors believe that they would still be worse off in bankruptcy . sources report that in creditor discussions , there has not been talk of the debt holders not being paid . " people have talked about screwing the generators and everyone else , but not the debt holders , " a source commented . the qfs are unlikely to file against socal because they have fairly good contracts in place . also , they receive high capacity fees in the summer ( these fees vary seasonally and are distinct from generating fees ) . these capacity fees are calculated on a rolling , 4 - year basis and will be re - calculated next year . the qfs want this summer included in the recalculation , incentivizing them to keep their contracts in place . 4 . montali supporting qfs judge montali , by his recent rulings , is sending a signal that he is concerned for the qfs and is sensitive to their hardships . he is trying to help them through his rulings . for example , as long as qfs remain on line , those who petition can receive additional payments from pg & e . over a 4 - month period , these payments equal 20 % of the qfs ' pre - petition claims . this provides the qfs incentive to remain connected to pg & e . 5 . ge looking to restructure generating capacity financing general electric is reportedly " deeply concerned " about the stability of financing generating capacity in the us . ( ge has over 70 % of the gas turbine market . ) ge is reportedly trying to keep its margins down and is not raising its prices due to concerns about instability . sources believe that a very significant percentage of generating capacity financing will have to be restrucured in five years .