CPUC Set to Make Pipeline Explosion Investigation More Transparent

The California Public Utilities Commission is proposing to embark on a new effort to open up its investigation into the Sept. 9 pipeline explosion more to the public—an effort that is likely to lead to new pipeline safety rules throughout the state.

The commission's board is expected vote on an item Thursday at its business meeting in San Francisco that will give a commissioner and an administrative law judge assigned by the CPUC authority to lead the commission in proceeding with a coordinated, public investigation of the explosion, which left eight people dead and 38 homes destroyed in the Crestmoor neighborhood.

During the proceedings of this effort, which are expected to take several months, the commission is proposing to collect and analyze data from both the and the appointed by the commission, and make that information open to the public. The commission is also proposing to allow interested parties to have a bigger voice in regulatory proposals made.

One of the first opportunities for people to express those views will come in April, when the commission is expected to hold a public hearing in San Bruno to get input on how the CPUC regulates natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines in California. 

In language explaining the item that will be voted on Thursday, the CPUC is already anticipating that PG&E's record-keeping problems related to , the pipeline that exploded in the Crestmoor neighborhood, could result in "extraordinary safety investments."

One of the issues that will be addressed in the public proceedings over the next few months is what role utilities will have in paying for those investments.

"The extraordinary safety investments required for PG&E's gas pipeline system and the unique circumstances of the costs of replacing the San Bruno line are situations where this Commission may use its ratemaking authority to, for example, reduce PG&E's rate of return on specific plant investments or impose a cost sharing requirement on shareholders," a document explaining the commission's proposed effort states.

Another issue to be addressed will be the CPUC's own regulatory practices and how regulators can better catch pipeline safety warning signs before another explosion occurs.

"Due to aging utility infrastructure, we are interested in assessing whether we may be missing other natural gas pipeline safety issues or other catastrophic risks that are currently unidentified," the CPUC document states. "In short, we pose the questions: 'what else is out there?' and 'what can we do to prevent another tragedy from unexpected sources?'"

The meeting on Thursday will be held at 10am at the CPUC headquarters at 505 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco.