Pacific Gas & Electric has been under investigation for quite some time now. In 2010, there was a terrible pipeline explosion you may remember. In the town of San Bruno, a huge pipeline explosion occurred September 9, 2010, in San Bruno, California, that killed eight people and destroyed almost 
40 homes. The cause of the explosion was a 30-inch natural gas pipeline. This was only two miles from the San Francisco International Airport. What Did Pacific Gas & Electric Know?
As a result of an investigation, PG&E was fined more than $1.6 billion for negligence. It was considered a criminal activity. The utility was ordered to submit to federal monitoring. In the fall of 2018, as most of the world knows, there was a strong suspicion that it was PG&E that due to faulty equipment killed at least 86 people, injured hundreds, and destroyed about 15,000 homes. It essentially wiped out the town of Paradise, which is no longer a paradise but the remains of a huge inferno. Nothing is left.
Who caused what?
Investigators maintain that while the cause of the blaze has yet to be determined, and while the fire is not directly linked to the overall safety evaluation of what took place, that lawmakers are viewing the utility company’s operation in fire-prone areas of the operations.
The problem is that the huge monolith of Pacific Gas & Electric Company is so difficult to manage and control. The conglomerate, with revenues in excess of $17 billion is a provider of natural gas and electric to more than 5.2 million homes. It covers about two-thirds of California.
The California Public Utility Commission, along with PG&E has been the subject of intense scrutiny and outrage as being culpable of causing death and destruction. Amazingly, PG&E is not a public utility. They operate as a company, responsible to themselves and stakeholders.
As a result of not only the recent fires but numerous past violations, the pressure is mounting to change the way the organization does business. But why has it taken so long?
Too Little Too Late?
The California Public Utilities Commission is now discussing several options to make the Pacific Gas & Electric Company more efficient, more responsible and accountable. Among these options are to break up the conglomerate into two broad areas: natural gas and electrical transmission. They are also seeking to replace the utility’s board of directors and its corporate management. They want to make certain that investors ROI (return on investment) is conditional on safety records. To reduce the company into more manageable levels they are floating the idea of reorganizing the company into regional subsidiaries and the possible end-game, to make PG&E a public utility.
In a public statement, PG&E said “We’re open to a range of solutions that will help make the energy system safer for the customers we serve. PG&E’s most important responsibility must always be public and employee safety.”
However, the California Public Utilities Commission said in part to the PG&E comment
“PG&E has had serious safety problems with both its gas and electric operations for many years.”
It again calls into focus why then; the commission did not go after stronger intervention until the tragedy that happened to Paradise and the surrounding area? What were they waiting for? Why the sudden rush to develop an ethical core?
Did it come down to rationalization? After the terrible accident in 2010, it is impossible to not wonder if the commission didn’t overlook the deaths and destruction as an isolated incident. However, upon closer examination, there has been a continuous pattern of consumer complaints and in the 2010 case, charges of obstruction.
Now, as the lawsuits have come rolling in, the commission is in the public crosshairs for a failure to better police PG&E. Whether a tiny storefront or a massive conglomerate, bad choices lead to serious consequences. If it is determined that crews working for PG&E were, in fact, responsible for even part of the death and destruction, all the rationalization in the world will not make up for a lack of ethical intervention. What Did Pacific Gas & Electric Know?
