PG&E customers could be zapped with hefty fees if they want to opt out of the utility’s SmartMeter program.
Ratepayers who want to avoid the automated meter-reading program will have to pay a one-time fee of $90 and a monthly rate of $15 under a proposal being backed by the California Public Utilities Commission, the state’s energy watchdog.
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A state law containing stricter guidelines for natural gas pipeline operators is set to take effect on Jan. 1.
Assembly Bill 56 by Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, will require utilities to install remote-controlled shut-off valves on pipelines that run through highly populated areas.
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The segment of pipe that failed during a pressurized water test Sunday was apparently damaged by a backhoe sometime in the past 60 years, according to PG&E officials, but when exactly is unknown.
No one was injured when a segment of Line 132 exploded at 3:20 p.m. off Interstate 280 near Woodside, but it created a mudslide that closed northbound lanes for hours. It also left a 5-by-5-foot crater roughly 100 yards from homes.
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All that nasty hand-wringing and name-calling that came out earlier this year between the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the California Public Utilities Commission appears to have dissipated, as the two sides now are content on playing nice to avoid any looming legal battles over Muni’s rail system.
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Seven months after California rail regulators stunned Muni by issuing a litany of violations with the transit agency’s operations, the two sides will meet for a prehearing conference to discuss the status of the state investigation.
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Headlines have screamed “PG&E, PG&E, PG&E” in the year since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion, but the utility company is not the only entity that runs pipelines carrying hazardous materials under our feet.There are nearly 6,000 miles of pipeline operated by private companies and public utilities that carry liquid petroleum products across the state’s mountains, valleys, towns and cities.
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It’s fairly remarkable that after more than 100 years as a utility provider, PG&E could be so woefully disconnected.
And it leaves little doubt that hubris is a natural byproduct of business monopolies.
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In 1911 the Railroad Commission of California was established because an outraged public demanded there be some regulation of the powerful rail barons that had repeatedly proved they were incapable of regulating themselves.
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PG&E is a for-profit company that exists to run a system the public depends on. The California Public Utilities Commission is a state regulator that exists to make sure utilities like PG&E are not pulling any fast ones on the public.
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The California Public Utilities Commission is looking for a new director for its Consumer Protection and Safety Division.
The division handles safety oversight of gas and electric utilities; railroads; light rail transit systems and highway/rail crossings; motor carriers of passengers; and household goods and water vessels.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/taxonomy/term/37386
