Posted on 09/04/2017 3:07:21 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. would have to pay nearly $100 million under a regulatory judge’s proposed punishment issued Friday.
Citing the “flagrant and pervasive nature” of the five years of illegal e-mail contacts, administrative law judge Robert Mason concluded that a previously agreed to $1 million fine against the company was “too low.”
Mason upped that to $12 million in fines. That's combined with $73.5 million in customer rate cuts that PG&E has agreed to provide.
The $97.5 million penalty will be the most severe imposed on any state regulated utility for so-called ex parte communications – the official term for backdoor, one-sided contacts with regulators.
“We received it and we’re reviewing it,” said Keith Stephens, a spokesman for the utility said Friday of the judge’s tentative decision. PG&E could decide to appeal the penalty. He declined further comment.
The fine must also be approved by the state’s Public Utilities Commission.
The latest case dates back to when the company had to release 65,000 e-mails dating from 2010 and 2014, under pressure from the city of San Bruno.
The city’s push for emails had already led PG&E to admit it had engaged in a secret campaign to get the regulatory judge of it wanted to oversee a rate case tied to the blast. A total of 164 of the 65,000 communications were alleged to be improper.
Under the administrative law judge’s tentative ruling, issued late Friday, the company would have to pay $6 million each to compensate the cities of San Bruno and San Carlos.
Both cities were involved in regulatory disputes over pipeline safety at the time and but were unaware of the company’s one-sided communications with regulators.
Britt Strottman, attorney for the city of San Bruno, said she hopes the settlement “will be the last chapter and PG&E will learn from its mistakes.”
So the PG&E customers will pay for it in the end — and what will the court do with this windfall?
PG*E screwed over their good people years ago.....
this is KARMA!
I’d also like to see an investigation into the “administrative law judge they wanted”.
Gee, you really don’t expect to see this sort of thing in CA state government.. :/
I’m sure you’re weeping for them.
So the PG&E customers will pay for it in the end — and what will the court do with this windfall?
Idiot liberals in Californicator land are happy that the evil PG&E will be paying this fine.
They are so fricking insane, they refuse to realize that PG&E’s customers, us, will be paying for those fines with higher monthly rates.
As usual, the liberal lawyers in California are the winners.
I practiced utility regulatory law in five states and these types of contacts go on all the time and not just with ALJ’s. It is the Commissioners who also partake in these communications, usually as guests of the utility at some sporting or social event. The whole system is corrupt.
So, did the regulators (State Bureaucrats) get in any trouble?
Gee, imagine if Mrs. Bill Clinton were held accountable for her email crimes.
Hah! I see you remember his post earlier...
Thanks for confirming this sad reality.
PG & E should say sure here’s you’d 100 mil and oh by the way we are closing down tomorrow.
Translation?
“So the PG&E customers will pay for it in the end...”
Not a single utility manager fined or jailed .... yep, a big fine on the customers and stockholders! Real retarded judge there ...
Democrats working overtime to create the next Detroit.
Even the Utility companies are being extorted to collapse. Domocrats are not unlike piranhas when they smell blood money.
Nope, I'm too busy holding on to my wallet to get my hanky out. PIGGIE AND ELECTRIC will shrug and find a way to pass the fine on to the rate payers. They always do. That's me.
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