Regulators are accusing one of California\u2019s largest public utilities of falsifying safety data records shortly after the utility company was fined millions of dollars for\u2026<\/b>
\nRegulators are accusing one of California\u2019s largest public utilities of falsifying safety data records shortly after the utility company was fined millions of dollars for a massive natural gas explosion in San Francisco.
A California Public Utilities Commission investigation found that the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) lacked enough employees to fulfill requests to document natural gas pipelines. PG&E pushed supervisors to complete the work, leading staff to falsify data from 2012 to 2017.
\u201cUtility falsification of safety related records is a serious violation of law and diminishes our trust in the utility\u2019s reports on their progress,\u201d commission President Michael Picker noted in a statement Friday. \u201cThese findings are another example of why we are investigating PG&E\u2019s safety culture.\u201d
The company, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, claims it now has enough employees to effectively document pipelines throughout the state. (RELATED: FEDS Reduce Fines For Pipeline Explosion From $562 Million To $6 Million)
\u201cWe\u2019re committed to accurate and thorough reporting and record-keeping, and we didn\u2019t live up to that commitment in this case,\u201d utility spokesman Matt Nauman said in a statement.
FILE PHOTO: A firefighter battles the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, California, U. S. November 9,2018. The fire destroyed dozens of structures, forced thousands of evacuations and closed a major freeway. REUTERS\/Eric Thayer\/File Photo
The utility was fined $3 million after it was convicted of six felony charges for not properly maintaining a natural gas pipeline that exploded in 2010. Regulators also fined PG&E $1.6 billion for the blast, which killed eight people and wiped out an entire neighborhood in San Bruno.
California\u2019s public utility commission gave the evidence to a judge, who will hear testimony on the findings and allow PG&E to provide its side of the story. The company has come under intense scrutiny recently following a series of wildfires outbreaks in November that leveled a small Northern California town.
Three major fires \u2013 the Camp Fire, Woolsey Fire, and Hill Fire \u2013 scorched more than 200,000 acres, or roughly 300 square miles, mostly in Northern California. Hundreds of thousands of Californians were forced to evacuate, including 160,000 from the Los Angeles-area where the Woolsey Fire and smaller Hill Fire burned.
Follow Chris White on Facebook and Twitter
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org .<\/p>\n