PG&E Names New Executive to Gas Pipeline Team

PG&E added another executive to its gas operations team to help rebuild the company following the 2010 pipeline explosion in San Bruno. Jesus Soto Jr., who is currently the vice president of operation services for El Paso Corp.’s pipeline group, will now become PG&E’s senior vice president of gas transmission, operations, engineering and pipeline integrity. [...]

State Hearing to Focus on Increasing Funding for CA Public Utilities Commission

The California Public Utilities Commission is seeking to add seven new positions to its gas safety division  A state assemblyman will be leading a hearing today to talk about possibly beefing up state regulators’ ability to oversee pipeline safety in the wake of the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion. Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, who [...]

Pipeline regulators propose broader public access

The California Public Utilities Commission on Monday proposed opening up public access to most records under the agency’s purview, a dramatic shift that would allow Californians to view documents detailing the safety records of natural-gas pipelines running under their neighborhoods. The move comes 18 months after the explosion of a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. [...]

Calif. may lower fines for utility in fatal blast

A state administrative judge is proposing to fine a utility under fire for the deadly San Bruno pipeline explosion only $3 million, rather than going with a prior plan to charge Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $1 million each day for shoddy record-keeping. A California Public Utilities Commission judge issued the proposal Wednesday, but it [...]

$67 million requested for pipeline safety

Federal pipeline safety programs would get an extra $67 million and nearly 120 new employees under a proposal President Obama announced Monday that brought cheers from safety advocates pushing to address accidents and growing safety concerns. The request, part of the president’s $3.8 trillion plan, would almost double the number of enforcement agents nationwide, according [...]

City of San Francisco sues to force feds to improve pipeline safety

The city of San Francisco took the unusual step Tuesday of asking a judge to force federal natural-gas safety regulators to step up efforts in California, saying the government “abjectly failed” to enforce pipeline laws before and after the 2010 explosion that devastated a San Bruno neighborhood. At issue in City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s lawsuit, filed in [...]

PG&E chairman announces company will spend millions on improvements

Utility to spend nearly $400 million on gas and electrical infrastructure in an effort to repair its tarnished reputation. Acknowledging that the company’s reputation is “in tatters,” PG&E’s new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Earley announced Thursday the utility will spend $400 million over the next two years to improve its electrical and natural [...]

Bill package targets gas pipeline safety

A state lawmaker who represents the San Bruno neighborhood devastated by a natural-gas explosion in 2010 introduced a package of bills Monday designed to prevent a repeat of the disaster, including one that would tie Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s rates to its safety performance. Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, whose district includes the Crestmoor [...]

Obama signs pipeline safety bill

On Tuesday, President Obama signed into law a pipeline safety bill that gained momentum after a string of high-profile incidents, including a deadly Northern California explosion in 2010. The bill, which passed Congress with rare bipartisan support, doubles the maximum fine for safety violations to $2 million, authorizes more pipeline inspectors and requires automatic shut-off valves on new or replaced pipelines “where [...]

Pipeline safety bill clears Congress, headed to president

A pipeline safety bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday night was headed to President Obama for his expected signature. The measure, which moved through Congress with unusual speed, gained bipartisan support after a number of high-profile accidents around the country, including a pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif.,  last year that killed eight people [...]