The California Public Utilities Commission may penalize one of the country’s largest utility providers after an investigation found it had been falsifying records for five years.
“Excavators, including construction crews, rely on PG&E to inform them exactly where PG&E underground natural gas infrastructure is located,” CPUC stated. “If PG&E fails to meet its legally imposed responsibilities to locate and mark the required deadline of the excavating contractor’s request, a contractor may simply commence digging despite the danger.”
And while there may not always be immediate consequences to hitting a pipe, damage can sometimes take years to manifest itself, the report said.
“Utility falsification of safety-related records is a serious violation of law and diminishes our trust in the utility’s reports on their progress,” CPUC President Michael Picker said in a statement. “These findings are another example of why we are investigating.
