Pacific Gas & Electric Co.has been ordered to pay a $1.6 billion penalty – the largest ever levied against a public utility – for a 2010 explosion in a gas pipeline it operated that killed eight people and destroyed dozens of homes in a San Francisco suburb.
The five-member California Public Utilities Commission voted 4-0 Thursday, with the commission president, Michael Picker, abstaining, to impose the penalty. Picker, however, called for a larger review of problems at PG&E, a move that The Associated Press says "suggests the energy behemoth could be broken up."
The AP writes:
"Picker said state safety citations against PG&E were rising, but that the utility was so big, with $1.6 billion in earnings in 2014, that it was able to shrug off financial penalties. ...
'The commission will study 'the culture of safety' and organizational structure of Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which has its gas and electricity operations under a single corporate board and chief executive."
Tens of thousands of residents in western Washington could face evacuation orders when another round of...
Forecasters say the first snow storm of the season to take aim at major Northeast cities...
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake has rocked Alaska on Saturday, Dec. 6, according to the United States...
