Cpuc

As the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) email scandal continues to unfold, a California regulator on Wednesday blasted allegations that he was more chummy with a PG&E executive than had previously been disclosed.

California regulators on Thursday dropped another hammer on Pacific Gas and Electric Co.(PG&E) for its self-reported communications violations regarding a pending rate case. Separately, the regulators in executive session slapped a $10.85 million staff citation on PG&E for a natural gas explosion at a vacant residence in Carmel, CA, in March.

Two billion-dollar state regulatory cases crucial to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) future natural gas operations are in limbo following the recent email-driven communications violations scandal involving the combination utility and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) (see Daily GPI, Sept. 16).

Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) regulatory and legal woes will not be over anytime soon, and in the meantime the combination utility continues to push back against what it considers excessive penalties proposed by state regulators, CEO Tony Earley said Tuesday.

A utility consumer watchdog group won a partial victory Monday in its attempt to hold up an ongoing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) natural gas pipeline and storage rate case until the utility turns over more of the emails it has revealed over the past four weeks showing communications violations with state regulators, some of which were centered on the gas case.

A second California regulator mixed up in the email communications violations tied to Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has excused himself from a pending review of two regulatory judges’ proposed $1.4 billion in penalties for PG&E’s negligence in a fatal natural gas transmission pipeline rupture and explosion four years ago.

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) President Michael Peevey won’t seek another term after his expires at the end of this year, he said Thursday after more revelations emerged of inappropriate communications with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) executives.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) on Monday told state regulators that more violations were uncovered in the company’s ongoing internal review of past email communications between former PG&E executives and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s San Francisco Office has begun an investigation of the ex parte communications violations.

Undaunted by a series of public rebukes, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) late Thursday filed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), seeking to limit where the monies go from the upcoming penalties the utility will be ordered to pay for the 2010 natural gas transmission pipeline rupture in San Bruno, CA.