The U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco has filed criminal charges against PG&E Corp. (PCG) and its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, in connection with the 2010 San Bruno natural gas transmission pipeline accident.
The incident dates back to September 9, 2010, when an over 50 years old natural gas pipeline, located beneath a street intersection in a residential area, exploded after 6 p.m. The government has charged the owner of the utility with 12 pipeline safety violations for the explosion that killed eight people and left a huge crater.
The charges allege that PG&E's past operating practices violated the federal Pipeline Safety Act in areas such as record keeping, pipeline integrity management and identification of pipeline threats.
The company pledged to stay focused on building the safest and most reliable natural gas system in the country despite what it expects to be a lengthy legal process to demonstrate that these federal criminal charges have no merit.
Since the accident, the company has made structural changes, separating the gas and electric businesses to ensure an appropriate focus on safety. It also brought in a new management team to run the gas operations business.
PG&E has settled claims amounting to nearly $500 million with the victims and families of the San Bruno accident. It established a $50 million trust for the City of San Bruno for costs related to recovery and contributed $70 million to support the city's and community's recovery efforts.
PG&E Chairman and CEO Tony Earley, who was brought in to lead the company in 2011 after the San Bruno accident, said: "San Bruno was a tragic accident. We've taken accountability and are deeply sorry. We have worked hard to do the right thing for victims, their families and the community, and we will continue to do so."
PG&E believes that its employees did not intentionally violate the federal Pipeline Safety Act. Even where mistakes were made, employees were acting in good faith to provide customers with safe, reliable and affordable energy.
PCG closed down 1.9 percent on Tuesday at $42.37.
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