The California Public Utilities Commission recently announced a recommended fine against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in connection with a 2010 gas pipeline explosion: $2.25 billion. According to officials, that would be the largest fine ever assessed by a state regulatory agency. The commission said the fine should be shouldered by the company’s shareholders, not its customers.<\/p>\n
On September 9, 2010, a gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, a suburb of San Francisco. The blast killed eight, injured dozens, and destroyed some 38 homes.<\/p>\n
In 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled unanimously that the explosion was caused by a \u201clitany of failures\u201d by the company as well as insufficient oversight by safety officials.<\/p>\n
The City of San Bruno issued a separate recommendation that PG&E be fined not less than $1.25 billion, plus pay at least $1 billion toward inspecting and upgrading its pipelines. PG&E is expected to file its own proposal soon, and (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The California Public Utilities Commission recently announced a recommended fine against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in connection with a 2010 gas pipeline explosion: $2.25 billion. According to officials, that would be the largest fine ever assessed by a state…<\/span><\/p>\n