SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Latest on a California utility accused of falsifying records (all times local):
4:20 p.m.
A spokesman for a California utility accused of falsifying records on natural gas pipelines says the company failed to live up to its commitment of thorough and accurate record-keeping.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokesman Matt Nauman said in a statement Friday that the utility has taken action to meet regulatory standards. He says PG&E is cooperating with an investigation by the California Public Utilities Commission.
The commission said it found the utility lacked enough employees to fulfill requests to find and mark natural gas pipelines and that supervisors were pressured to complete the work, leading staff to falsify data from 2012 to 2017.
It came after PG&E was convicted of failing to properly maintain a natural gas pipeline that exploded south of San Francisco in 2010, killing eight people.
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2:30 p.m.
Regulators are accusing one of California's largest utilities of falsifying safety documents on natural gas pipelines over a five-year period.
The California Public Utilities Commission said Friday that an investigation by its staff found Pacific Gas & Electric Co. lacked enough employees to fulfill requests to find and mark natural gas pipelines.
Regulators say that because of the staff shortage, PG&E pressured supervisors and locators to complete the work, leading staff to falsify data from 2012 to 2017.
A U.S. judge fined the utility $3 million after it was convicted of six felony charges for failing to properly maintain a natural gas pipeline that exploded south of San Francisco in 2010, killing eight people.
PG&E didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
