March 24, 2021
A Northern California wildfire that killed four people and destroyed more than 200 buildings last year was sparked when tree branches came into contact with Pacific Gas & Electric power lines, officials said in a report. Investigators with the California …
April 1, 2016
Meter-thick concrete walls and 1950s-style analog control rooms help protect nuclear plants from bomb attacks and computer hackers, but Islamist militants are turning their attention to the atomic industry’s weak spots, security experts say. Concerns about nuclear terrorism rose after …
January 29, 2016
U.S. utilities are looking hard at their cyber vulnerabilities and whether they can get insurance to cover what could be a multi-billion dollar loss after hackers cut electric power to more than 80,000 Ukrainians last month. The Dec. 23 incident …
January 11, 2016
Hackers likely caused a Dec. 23 electricity outage in Ukraine by remotely switching breakers to cut power, after installing malware to prevent technicians from detecting the attack, according to a report analyzing how the incident unfolded. The report from Washington-based …
April 10, 2015
Repeated natural-gas accidents – including a 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people – suggest that California’s largest power utility could be too big to operate safely, the state’s top utility regulator says. California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Picker …
April 22, 2014
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has pleaded not guilty to federal charges stemming from a natural gas pipeline explosion in California that killed eight people and injured 58 others in 2010, according to court filings. The utility was indicted by …
April 2, 2014
PG&E Corp., owner of California’s largest utility, was charged with 12 pipeline safety violations by the U.S. government for a 2010 natural gas explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, California. The criminal case comes three and half years …
February 21, 2014
Two women are suing Southern California Edison, claiming their electricity was cut off for refusing to pay a nearly $140,000 bill racked up by a marijuana grower. City News Service says the suit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles, alleges breach …
September 10, 2013
PG&E Corp., owner of California’s largest utility, said it will settle “substantially all” remaining personal injury and property damage claims from a 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people. The utility announced the agreement today in a regulatory …
August 14, 2013
Power companies should be pressed by government to install technologies including smart meters and energy-storage devices to shield the electric grid from more frequent disruptions tied to weather, according to a study. Severe weather, the primary cause of power failures …