Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced that it has paid
a $300 million fine levied by the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) in association with the 2010 natural gas transmission pipeline
explosion in San Bruno, Calif.
When the CPUC announced its decision on April 9, PG&E chose to move
forward without an appeal. The payment to the state's General Fund is
due Oct. 6. The company recently completed the sale of additional stock
necessary to fund the payment.
"We want our customers and their families to know that all of us at PG&E
have committed ourselves to a goal of transforming this company into the
safest and most reliable energy provider in America. We've made
tremendous progress, but we have more to do and we are committed to
doing it right," PG&E Corporation Chairman and CEO Tony Earley said.
In addition to the $300 million fine to be paid to the state, the CPUC
penalty requires that PG&E shareholders refund $400 million to gas
customers and pay $850 million for gas system safety improvements.
The $400 million refund, which will be based on usage, will be returned
to customers in early 2016 per the CPUC’s direction.
In addition to the payment to the General Fund, the company has settled
claims amounting to more than $500 million with all of the victims and
families of the San Bruno accident, established a $50 million trust for
the City of San Bruno for costs related to recovery and contributed $70
million to support the city's and community's recovery efforts.
As a result of the concrete actions the company has taken to make safety
the cornerstone of its culture following the San Bruno explosion, PG&E
became one of the first utilities ever to earn two of the highest
internationally recognized safety certifications—the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) 55001 and Publicly Available
Specification (PAS) 55-1. The company has taken additional actions
including the following:
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Change began at the top with Tony Earley joining the company as CEO in
2011. We restructured our gas operations business and hired the best
natural gas experts in the country to run it.
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We put 3,500 leaders at all levels of PG&E through safety training and
we review the lessons of San Bruno with every new employee.
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We have conducted advanced pipeline safety testing, replaced pipe
where necessary and installed more than 200 new automated or remotely
controlled emergency shut-off valves.
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We decommissioned more than 800 miles of remaining cast-iron pipe in
our system, replacing with stronger, more efficient and seismically
sound pipe.
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We built a new
gas operations control center, employing the most advanced
technology, from which we can monitor the entire system and respond
more quickly and effectively to emergencies.
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We're using new gas leak detection technology that is 1,000
times more sensitive than traditional equipment in order to help
find and fix leaks before they become a problem. When a customer calls
to report a gas odor, we are now among the fastest in the entire
industry in responding.
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We have closed out 10 of 12 recommendations from the National
Transportation Safety Board and work on the remaining two is on track.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas
and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco,
with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the
nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and
Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/
and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.
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