PG&E May Get Lower Fines In San Bruno Blast
SAN BRUNO (KCBS/AP) -- California regulators on Thursday approved levying fines of about $1 million a day against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for shoddy record-keeping after a deadly pipeline explosion but then immediately switched course to consider another proposal that could lower the penalty to a total of just $3 million.
The fines of $1 million a day were unanimously passed by the California Public Utilities Commission against PG&E. The fines would run from last week through mid-April.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
Following the vote, however, commission executive director Paul Clanon asked members to instead mull a new plan that could lower total fines to as little as $3 million, if the utility meets requirements, including tests of transmission lines running beneath some of the state's largest cities.
If the company does not pressure-test certain high-risk lines or experiences any unexcused delays, fines could rise to $6 million, he added.
Photo Gallery: Explosion Rocks San Bruno Neighborhood
"It's a novel procedural approach," Clanon said. "This is a very public and enforceable way to get this information."
The Sept. 9 blast killed eight people and destroyed three dozen homes in San Bruno.
Regulators ordered PG&E to provide detailed engineering records soon after the accident. The utility provided summary documents, but company officials acknowledged they could not find key safety records for 8 percent of lines running through populated areas.
Regulators have criticized PG&E for relying on documents showing historical pressure levels for older pipelines rather than actual pressure tests or engineering work.
The utility could not turn up pressure tests for 69 percent of transmission lines laid before 1961 in densely populated areas, including some sections of the line that blew up in San Bruno.
PG&E spokesman Joe Molica said the company would pay the first $3 million installment of the proposed reduced fines within 10 days if the commission approves the agreement, which could happen as soon as April 14.
"Safety is our highest responsibility and we share the commission's goal of enhancing the safety of the natural gas system," Molica said.
"Safety is our highest responsibility and we share the commission's goal of enhancing the safety of the natural gas system," Molica said.
Assemblyman Jerry Hill, a Democrat whose district includes San Bruno, said he was troubled by what he termed a "backroom deal," in which the utility would not admit wrongdoing.
"This type of dealing erodes my faith in the public and transparent process the commission had promised," Hill said in a statement Thursday. "The PUC's decision looks to be premature — especially when records remain unavailable for hundreds of miles of pipeline that could ignite another explosion. The PUC should wait until the end of the administrative process before agreeing to a fine amount."
Mindy Spatt, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based nonprofit The Utility Reform Network, said the new proposal amounted to "chump change" for PG&E.
"Rather than a strong signal, this seems like a slap on the wrist," Spatt said.
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