Don’t let regulators off the hook

Let’s not forget: PG&E is not the only culprit in the decades of inattention to safety leading up the September 2010 San Bruno disaster. The California Public Utilities Commission was supposed to be imposing and enforcing safety standards.

A recent internal audit of the PUC confirmed what many of its critics have been alleging all along: Its relationship with the utilities it is supposed to oversee is much too cozy. The 24-page report said respondents suggested that close ties between the industry and PUC staff and commissioners have “resulted in reluctance on the part of commissioners and the PUC to impose significant fines and other consequences.”

Even before that report, Gov. Jerry Brown had more than ample cause to remove former utility executive Michael Peevey as president of the commission. Peevey may know the industry, but he exudes an obliviousness to appearances of coziness (e.g., his consent to a 2004 scheme to allow PG&E to dish out $83 million in executive bonuses), public process (e.g., his attempt to assign himself the duty of presiding over the San Bruno fines) and transparency (e.g., his recent refusal to appear at a legislative hearing) shows that he is the wrong person for the job at this critical time.

The PUC staff needs the resources and technological expertise to perform its watchdog role. A culture change starts at the top: Peevey must go.