California Public Utilities Commission News

California Regulators OK More Gas Storage Capacity at The Site of Massive Methane Leak

California regulators last week approved a controversial proposal to greatly increase storage capacity at the site of the nation’s largest known methane leak, which sickened thousands of families and forced them from their Los Angeles homes in 2015. Despite opposition …

Uber Appealing $59M Fine in California Over Sex Assault Data Request

Uber Technologies Inc. on Wednesday appealed a $59 million fine by a California regulator in a dispute over whether the company should share detailed information on sexual assault and harassment claims reported on its ridesharing platform. The California Public Utilities …

California Regulator Says Uber, Lyft Drivers Are Employees

Drivers working for ride-hailing services such as Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc will be considered employees under California’s new gig worker law, the state’s leading industry regulator said on Thursday. Shares in Uber and Lyft fell 5.3% and 4.2%, …

California Public Utilities Commission Fines PG&E $2.1B over Wildfires

The California Public Utilities Commission has issued an administrative law judge decision imposing $2.137 billion in penalties against Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the utility’s role in the catastrophic 2017 and 2018 wildfires. If PG&E agrees to the modified …

Proposed California Wildfire Board Could Operate Partly in Secret

A closely watched wildfire law proposed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom would exempt a new safety board from some of the state’s government transparency laws. The Wildfire Safety Advisory Board would advise the state’s utility regulator and help set the …

California Regulators Say Utility Falsified Pipeline Safety Records

Regulators have accused one of California’s largest utilities of falsifying safety documents for natural gas pipelines for years following its criminal conviction and multimillion-dollar fine for a pipeline explosion that killed eight people near San Francisco. The California Public Utilities …

California Regulator Requiring PG&E to Implement Safety Recommendations

California’s top utilities regulator on Thursday ordered the embattled power utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to implement safety recommendations the agency’s staff outlined in an independent third-party report. The move by the California Public Utilities Commission comes as it …

Power Customers in California File Claims in Pre-Emptive Wildfire Outage

A Northern California utility received 146 demands for reimbursement from customers who say Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s controversial decision to cut power to prevent wildfires hurt them economically. The utility said Wednesday in a report to California regulators that …

California to Cite Utilities More than $13M for Safety Violations

California regulators have fined two utilities more than $13 million for violations of safety rules for incidents that caused injuries. The Public Utilities Commission hit Southern California Edison with an $8 million citation for a downed power line that was …

California Train Agency Fined $650K in 2 Worker Deaths

Regulators fined the San Francisco Bay Area’s transit agency $650,000 on Thursday for safety failures that led a commuter train to strike and kill two workers inspecting track five years ago during a union strike. The California Public Utilities Commission …