Proceeding Number I.14-11-008 DECISION REGARDING INVESTIGATION OF PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY’S GAS DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES RECORDS

ABSTRACT: Re: BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Order Instituting Investigation And Order to Show Cause on the Commission’s Own Motion into the Operations and Practices of Pacific Gas and Electric Company with Respect to Facilities Records for its Natural Gas Distribution System Pipelines, the DECISION REGARDING INVESTIGATION OF PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY’S GAS DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES RECORDS document copy is embedded. Summary Today‘s decision finds that Pacific Gas and Electric Company failed to comply with applicable law and regulations in maintaining accurate records of its natural gas distribution system. These inaccurate records were relied on for locating and marking underground facilities in anticipation of excavation. The inaccurately mapped and consequently inaccurately marked facilities led to excavators damaging the distribution system in several instances. Release of natural gas, service interruptions and, in one case, significant property damage resulted. Today‘s decision first separates the violations into systemic failures and isolated mistakes in an otherwise compliant system, and imposes substantial fines for systemic failures and graduated fines for the isolated instances. Total fines of $25,626,000 are assessed for the systemic violations and incidents found in today‘s decision. With the Citation previously assessed for the Carmel incident, the total fine imposed on Pacific Gas and Electric Company for distribution system incidents is $36,476,000. This proceeding is closed.
Carmel proposed fines of up to $651 million, with supporting calculations. Carmel also recommended linking executive compensation to safety objectives, appointing independent monitors for PG&E‘s system, and ordering PG&E to compensate Carmel for its expenses.
The City requested reimbursement from PG&E for its expenses. The Commission‘s policy choice to decline to use its equitable powers to order PG&E to reimburse governmental entities for their litigation costs was set forth in D.15-04-024 at 168-170. The City has presented no reason to depart from that policy choice.
The City also recommended linking executive compensation to safety performance; a similar proposal was also examined and found duplicative or unsupported in D.15-04-024 at 167. Finally, the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea sought appointment of an independent monitor. That proposal was also considered in D.15-04-024 at 155– 60, where the Commission authorized another $30 million in reimbursement for experts for SED in addition to the $15 million awarded in Rulemaking 11-02-019, and otherwise denied the requested independent monitor.
Finally, the parties agree that the fines ordered in today‘s decision may not be included in regulated revenue requirement nor recovery sought from ratepayers in any manner.

IT IS ORDERED that:
1. Within 30 days of the effective date of this order Pacific Gas and Electric Company must pay a fine of $25,626,000 by check or money order payable to the California Public Utilities Commission and mailed or delivered to the Commission‘s Fiscal Office, 505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 3000, San Francisco, CA 94102. Write on the face of the check or money order ―For deposit to the General Fund per Decision 16-08-020.‖
2. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) shall convene, support, and report on a meet and confer process to consider and develop additional remedial measures necessary to address the issues identified in today‘s decision. The objective of this process will be a comprehensive compliance plan that includes all feasible and cost-effective measures necessary to improve PG&E‘s natural gas distribution system record-keeping. The participants shall begin their review with Exhibit E to Decision 15-04-024 to evaluate those remedial measures to determine whether more or different requirements are needed for the gas distribution system. All parties to this proceeding shall be invited to participate as well as all parties to the most recent general rate case and Investigation 11-02-016. The Commission‘s Safety and Enforcement Division shall participate and monitor this process. No later than 120 days after the effective date of this order, PG&E shall file and serve its initial compliance plan.
3. Investigation 14-11-008 is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated August 18, 2016, at San Francisco, California.
MICHAEL PICKER
President
MICHEL PETER FLORIO
CATHERINE J.K. SANDOVAL
CARLA J. PETERMAN
LIANE M. RANDOLPH
Commissioners

Decision Regarding Investigation of Pg and e Gas Distribution Facilities Records 8-26-16

Date of Issuance 8/26/2016
DECISION REGARDING INVESTIGATION OF PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY’S GAS DISTRIBUTION FACILITIES RECORDS