Legislation is in the pipeline to require the California Public Utilities Commission to reveal gas pipeline safety documents in accordance with the state’s Public Records Act. “If the San Bruno disaster has taught us anything, it is that we need to be vigilant in ensuring utility companies are not endangering our communities,” Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) stated. “The CPUC is supposed to be there to protect us and not as a barrier to public access.” Pacific Gas & Electric’s gas line in San Bruno exploded in September 2010, killing eight people and destroying more than three dozen homes. Yee said last week that he plans to introduce legislation next year to shine sunlight on natural gas safety related documents at the commission. The measure is as yet unnumbered. In 2004, former Senator Debra Bowen, currently Secretary of State, authored a bill that also would have required regulators to publicly reveal gas safety documents. It failed after stiff opposition by the utilities. In related news, a few days later the commission issued a request for proposals seeking a consultant to provide an internal audit of its Gas Safety and Reliability Branch program. “The CPUC is at a turning point in its regulation of natural gas safety and is seeking professional expertise to inform and guide program changes as it looks toward the future,” the commission stated Dec. 8. The audit is to examine the structure, function, and effectiveness of the CPUC’s natural gas safety program. The consultant’s report is to include recommendations for improving the Gas Safety and Reliability Branch’s effectiveness.
