Judge rejects PG&E blast fine as too lenient

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(09-29) 18:31 PDT RANCHO CORDOVA, SACRAMENTO COUNTY -- An administrative law judge on Thursday rejected as too lenient a $26 million fine against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. that the utility agreed to with state regulators for a 2008 natural gas pipeline explosion near Sacramento that killed a homeowner.

Instead, the judge recommended that PG&E be fined $38 million for breaking state and federal safety laws. If upheld, it would be the largest regulatory penalty ever against a California utility.

Judge John Wong, an administrative law judge for the California Public Utilities Commission, said a $38 million fine "is appropriate given the allegations in this investigation, PG&E's acknowledgement and admissions, and the gravity and severity" of the blast in Rancho Cordova (Sacramento County) on Christmas Eve 2008.

The explosion happened after gas leaking from a distribution line that PG&E had earlier repaired using substandard pipe filled the home of 72-year-old Wilbert "Bill" Paana. Panaa's granddaughter lit a cigarette and the house exploded, killing Paana and badly injuring the granddaughter and her mother.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/29/MN021LBIF8.DTL

[Starry Messenger]

1. Good.

[progressoid]

2. Rec.

[Proletariatprincess]

3. still not enough of a fine...

it should have been in the hundreds of millions. 38 million is still chump change to PGE.

[TheMadMonk]

7. I'd prefer to see a "make good" order for the entire distribution...

...network with a total freeze on stock dividends and trading until it's done.

[plumbob]

4. Up is good.

Often, these awards are dismissed completely.

[No Elephants]

5. Do they get to pass this on to their customers, or must the stockholders take the hit?

[demosincebirth]

6. That would be up to the PUC. Usually the consumer always comes

out on the short end of the stick,