PUC opens probe of PG&E
But the commission fails to comply with a search warrant related to its own operations.
State regulator looks at whether the culture at Pacific Gas & Electric Co. contributes to accidents such as the deadly 2010 explosion in San Bruno.
The California Public Utilities Commission has launched an investigation of the state’s largest utility at the same time that the agency has failed to deliver documents for an investigation into its own operations.
The PUC is investigating whether the culture at Pacific Gas & Electric Co. contributes to accidents such as the 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people in the Bay Area city of San Bruno.
Commissioners are reviewing PG&E’s structure, policies, practices and governance to see whether the utility puts enough emphasis on safety. In April, the PUC fined the utility a record $1.6 billion over the pipeline explosion.
“A public utility’s track record of safely operating its system is dependent on more than messages and slogans,” PUC President Michael Picker said in a statement. “An effective safety culture is shaped by the governance, policies, budget, practices, and most of all, the accountability set by the top leadership.”
Responding to the announcement of the investigation, PG&E said it already has taken several actions to address the problems that were revealed by the San Bruno explosion. Those actions include the 2011 addition of Tony Earley as chief executive as well as safety training for 3,500 employees.
“As we have said since this was originally announced, we look forward to a constructive dialogue with the commission and staff and to sharing our commitment to safety and the concrete actions we have taken over the last several years to back it up,” the utility said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the PUC — beset by criticism that its officials have a too-cozy relationship with the utilities they regulate — failed to respond to a search warrant for records related the California attorney general’s investigation of commission operations.
A court document filed Aug. 7 states that “after multiple requests, and two months after the search warrant was served on CPUC, no records have been produced.”
Special Agent Reye Diaz of the attorney general’s office added: “No extension has been requested and no indication has been given as to when the records will be produced.”
The attorney general is investigating secret talks between the PUC and Southern California Edison, the state’s second-largest investor-owned utility, that led to decisions that are costing utility customers billions of dollars.
Terrie Prosper, a PUC spokeswoman, said the commission has received 10 separate and extensive formal demands for documents over the last eight months. She said the agency is reviewing 6.5 million documents that might fall under the requests. More than 1.5 million documents already have been produced.
“We continue to review and produce documents in the order in which the formal requests were served,” Prosper said. “The attorney general’s office did not request it to be responded to before any of the other document requests. We will continue to fully comply.”
The secret talks between PUC officials and Edison representatives were highlighted in an Aug. 5 ruling by state Administrative Law Judge Melanie Darling. She ruled that Edison representatives engaged in 10 unreported communications with one or more commissioners or their personal advisors.
The communications, Darling said, related to the payment of costs from the shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear plant, which was closed after revelations that contractors installed faulty new steam generators. One of the new steam generators leaked a small amount of radiation.
The PUC approved a settlement agreement that left customers on the hook for $3.3 billion while the plant’s owners — Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — are responsible for $1.4 billion.
On Aug. 20, Edison responded to Darling’s ruling, saying that it did not believe that nine of the 10 communications needed to be reported. The utility now acknowledges one of the talks should have been reported.