San Bruno Mayor Calls for Further Investigation into Improper Emails Between PG&E, CPUC

San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane expressed disappointment Wednesday that the California Public Utility Commission has not yet launched a formal investigation into the improper communications between Pacific Gas and Electric and CPUC officials.

Ruane said CPUC President Michale Picker had promised such an investigation, known as an Order Instituting Investigation, in April, when the $1.6 billion fine against PG&E for the explosion five years ago was announced, and set a self-imposed deadline of June 9 for it to begin.

“Is the agency trying to protect someone?” Ruane said Wednesday.

Such a formal proceeding would take place before an administrative law judge and would carry the potential for further fines against PG&E, according to San Bruno City Manager Connie Jackson.

A lawsuit filed by San Bruno forced the CPUC to release thousands of pages of communication and emails that revealed close communication between PG&E and CPUC officials.

The revelations caused the firing of three PG&E executives, helped lead to the departure of former CPUC President Michael Peevey and caused Commissioner Mike Florio to recuse himself from hearings on the San Bruno pipeline case and hearings on PG&E gas rates. San Bruno officials have called for Florio to resign or be removed from the CPUC, a demand Ruane repeated Wednesday.

CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon on Wednesday said the CPUC had reviewed the emails of all employees and, while no illegal activities were found, had taken steps to discipline those who “failed to meet expectations of professionalism or showed personal interaction with regulated entities.” All employees were trained in the rules governing communications with regulated agencies.

The CPUC also hired a consultant to prepare a report on laws and practices relating to communications between CPUC decision makers and utilities and brought in new reporting procedures for such communications, Gordon said.

The CPUC is also cooperating with external investigations by the California Attorney General’s Office and federal prosecutors, Gordon said.

Gordon did not indicate whether a formal inquiry was planned and could not be reached for a followup question to clarify.

In the years since the explosion, San Bruno officials have actively pushed regulators and legislators to punish PG&E for the explosion and to pass new regulations and laws that will help prevent similar disasters in the future.

• --Bay City News Service, photo courtesy of the city of San Bruno