For the next 15 years, natural gas will be an important transition fuel, but longer term, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) is still conducting an assessment of what its future will be, CEO Patti Poppe said Thursday.

PG&E

“In all the clean energy scenarios, and certainly in the near-term over the next 15 years, there is a need for natural gas as a continued bridge fuel,” Poppe said during the first quarter conference call. “Our utility customers still want natural gas, and we’re going to have to figure out how we minimize methane emissions throughout our operations.

“We’re in the process of asking ourselves a lot of questions and developing a strategic plan, so when the time is right, we’ll talk more about this publicly. There is a lot more to be done to determine...