PG&E’s Cost of Doing Business
by Michael
As details of the what may have caused the fatal pipeline explosion in San Bruno begin to emerge, it's becoming more certain that negligence on the part of PG&E led to the tragic events.This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with PG&E's history of taking care of the bottom line before taking care of public safety.
Nor should anyone be surprised about the fact that PG&E petitioned the CPUC to increase rates to pay for pipeline maintenance and then pocketed the money and left the pipes to rot and explode. PG&E petitioned for fees to trim trees near power lines and then pocketed the money. When tree limbs that weren't trimmed fell on power lines in Nevada County and started a wild fire that destroyed many homes, PG&E was fined and paid damages. But the total fines and penalties were a drop in the bucket compared to PG&E's profits for that period. The corporate bosses probably dismissed the fines and penalties as simply a cost of doing business.
Their petition for increased fees to to raise $5 million to fix pipes was made in 2007 and was supposed to be done by 2009. Not one shovel of dirt was moved to repair ANY pipes. They even went so far as to petition for another $5 million in fees for pipe maintenance this YEAR. They couldn't fix the pipes using the $5 million they already collected, but they could give huge bonuses to executives, and they could spend $46 million on their campaign to quash public utility startups.
Now they even want shelter from paying for damages caused by their own negligence!!! Their impudence knows no bounds!!!
It's time to hold PG&E truly accountable for their immoral negligence. DA's have prosecuted the company in the past and now it's time to also prosecute the individuals who are making decisions that disregard public safety in favor of the bottom line. We also need to tell them to fix their own damn pipes out of their own pockets. After all, if a property owner has to repair sidewalks in front of their home at their own expense, why can't PG&E bear the cost of fixing its pipes?
Posted under Political Observations on Friday, September 17th, 2010 at 13:36
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