San Francisco rideshare companies Uber and Lyft have been asked by an administrative law judge to produce sealed copies of both their umbrella and excess liability insurance policies, along with proof that they are providing workers’ compensation for employees. Read More
The California agency investigating the deadly 2010 gas pipeline explosion in a San Francisco Bay Area neighborhood recommended Monday that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. pay a $2.25 billion fine for its negligence leading to the blast.The penalty would be the largest ever assessed by a state regulator, officials said. Read More
A Peninsula state senator has introduced legislation that would require the California Public Utilities Commission to separate its judicial and prosecutorial functions in the wake of its handling of the deadly 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion. Read More
Vehicles sporting pink mustaches could proliferate on the streets of San Francisco in coming months after a cease-and-desist order against a popular ride-sharing company was lifted. Read More
Impoverished California residents, many of them homeless and without access to landlines, will finally get a little help paying for their monthly cellphone bills.For years, the California Public Utilities Commission has offered discounted rates for low-income residents who use landline telephones. But with those devices becoming increasingly rare, that financial aid package offered little assistance to many. Read More
While state regulators approved a new pipeline safety plan for PG&E on Thursday, neither the utility nor its opponents voiced pleasure with the ruling and how it will affect company ratepayers or shareholders. Read More
State authorities will begin a formal investigation into how to regulate ride-sharing companies such as Lyft, Sidecar and Uber — an inquiry that could eventually legitimize the controversial businesses. Read More
Electricity rates could increase if the California Public Utilities Commission approves a plan to fund a $152 million research project by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The cost and the project itself are strongly opposed by The Utility Reform Network, along with state legislators who say the commission’s president is too close to the project to cast a vote. Read More
The recent class-action lawsuit and $20,000 in fines levied by the California Public Utilities Commission on Uber and other popular ride-sharing services was, in my opinion, the wrong course of action to address one of the most innovative and popular consumer services that has begun to prosper in our city. Read More
