Penalty

BP plc is facing up to $13.7 billion in penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for the Macondo well blowout in 2010, but the maximum fine is billions less than some had predicted.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) said Wednesday it will ask state regulators to review two regulatory judges’ recommendations that combined would assess $1.4 billion in penalties against the San Francisco-based utility for its failings leading to a natural gas transmission pipeline rupture and explosion four years ago in San Bruno, CA.

FERC’s Office of Enforcement (OE) said Thursday it raked in $304 million in civil penalties and almost $141 million in unjust profits that included the largest penalty ever assessed by the agency in settlements during the current fiscal year.

Natural gas prices and flexible gas-fired power generation are two keys to California’s attempt to deal with the impact of more renewable-based and decentralized power supplies, according to the CEOs of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) and Southern California Edison Co. (SCE).

The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has published a notice on whether to expand integrity management program (IMP) requirements for natural gas pipelines beyond high-consequence (HCA) or high-population areas.

Washington state regulators saidPuget Sound Energy(PSE) has agreed to pay a $275,000 penalty to settle a natural gas safety complaint lodged against the Bellevue, WA-based combination utility last year regarding a pipeline leak, explosion and house fire in North Seattle in 2011. TheWashington Utilities and Transportation Commission(WUTC) alleged that PSE violated certain gas safety rules when it responded to reports of gas leaks in the Pinehurst neighborhood of Seattle two years ago. An explosion and fire subsequently destroyed a home and injured two people. Under the settlement, PSE admits there were violations and agreed to pay the penalty. The utility is not allowed to pass on the cost of the fine in the retail rates it charges customers. The WUTC staff found the cause of the leaks late last year and recommended a $400,000 penalty (seeDaily GPI,Dec. 28, 2012).

As part of its efforts to increase the level of safety in natural gas delivery systems throughout the state, California regulatory safety staff on Friday finalized its procedures for implementing increased powers to issue citations for violations to the state’s major gas utilities. The action was touted as the basis for “an aggressive program” making safety “central to the utility bottom line.”

PG&E Corp. CEO Anthony Earley in a Wall Street interview Wednesday held out the possibility of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the company’s giant San Francisco-based combination utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E), if a proposed $2.25 billion penalty by state regulatory safety staff is upheld by the five-member California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

TheInterior Department’sOffice of Natural Resources Revenue(ONRR) has assessed a $43,040 civil penalty onEQT Production Co., formerlyEquitable Production, for failure to report production on its oil and gas operations. According to ONRR Director Greg Gould, the civil penalty stems from a Feb. 24, 2011 notice of noncompliance that ONRR issued to the company. The Pittsburgh, PA-based company, which has offices in Charleston, WV, may request a hearing on the civil penalty. EQT is one of the fastest-growing exploration and production companies in the Appalachian region.