The owner of the largest utility in California has been sought legal action by the US government over the fatal natural gas explosion in San Francisco that killed eight people and left a house-size crater. PG&E Corp was charged yesterday in a grand jury indictment in a San Francisco court with 12 pipeline safety violations, some under the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act.
Bloomberg said the charges followed three and a half years after an explosion happened in San Bruno 12 miles south of San Francisco. A 54 year-old natural gas pipeline measuring 30 inches in diameter blasted under a street intersection located in a residential area just after 6PM on September 9. According to a state report, the explosion sent a 28-foot chunk of the pipeline weighing 3,000 pounds flying to the air thanks to the blowing natural gas. The news agency said that for each of the 12 charges filed against PG&E, maximum penalty is $500,000 or is based on the company's gain it made from violating the loss or the amount of the loss to its victims.
"Pacific Gas and Electric Co. knowingly and willfully failed to gather and integrate existing data and information on a line, specifically Line 132, that could be relevant to identifying and evaluating all potential threats," read the indictment.
US Attorney Melinda Haag in San Francisco commented in an email about the indictment, "The citizens of Northern California deserve to have their utility providers put the safety of the community first."
Bloomberg said that the indictment highlighted the increased scrutiny pipeline and utility companies had received lately over their aging pipes which are running under US cities. A Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED)-operated leaking gas main is currently under investigation by federal investigators regarding its links to a New York City explosion that happened last month, which also claimed eight lives.
