SACRAMENTO, CA (KMJ) – Tough questions were posed during a hearing at the State Capitol involved the California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees the embattled utility, PG&E.
The annual review was already on the schedule for Wednesday, but with Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the nation’s largest utility declaring bankruptcy at midnight on Tuesday, CPUC President Michael Picker was responding to legislators, including Valley Assemblyman Jim Patterson.
Assemblyman Jim Patterson: “The aspiration for safe, reliable and affordable electricity – how is that aspiration reached with these complicating circumstances?”
CPUC President Michael Picker responded: “You know, we’ve been struggling with these same issues for quite some time, so frankly, if you recall two, three years ago we were talking about how the utilities were in a death spiral because of rooftop solar. The utilities are still here, rates are still affordable, two of those rooftop solar companies are bankrupt.”
Picker said the Commission takes whatever actions seem appropriate long-term to build a solid foundation.
He said they are learning from other agencies dealing with the impacts of catastrophic events, and looking at tech innovation.
Earlier on Wednesday, Federal Judge William Alsup found PG&E violated probation terms for the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion.
Judge Alsup chastised Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for making “excuses” to avoid turning off electricity when fire risk is high.
He accused the utility of enriching shareholders instead of clearing trees.
Judge Alsup did not yet order PG&E to take any of the dramatic measures he has proposed to try to stop catastrophic wildfires in California.
He said he was not ruling out some new requirements on the utility if it did not come up with a plan to “solve” the problem.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
