PG&E’s proposed $13.5 billion payment to California wildfire victims has been sweetened, now offering cash upfront after California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected the original agreement.

The new settlement deal with PG&E Corp’s creditors was approved by a US bankruptcy judge Tuesday, according to a letter sent on Friday to Newsom.

The latest proposal will make sure victims “are prioritized, as they should be” and will address demands Newsom raised when he rejected the deal, the bondholders’ letter said.

The settlement lacked governance changes and tougher safety enforcement mechanisms that the state wildfire statute requires, Newsom said.

He had also said the settlement would leave the company with a “limited ability to withstand future financial and operational headwinds.”

The new plan calls for no debt at the reorganized holding company and a new board of mostly California residents.

It allows for the state to take over PG&E if it’s found that the company caused a wildfire that destroys more than 5,000 structures.

PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, citing the potential liabilities upward of $30 billion from deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018.

With Post wires