SAN FRANCISCO >> PG&E customers face a $1 increase in monthly gas bills because the company is seeking to upgrade its vast network of natural gas transmission and storage systems, the utility disclosed Friday in a regulatory filing.
“We are focused on making the right investments to achieve greater gas safety and reliability today while working hard to achieve customer savings in the future,” said Nick Stavropoulos, PG&E’s president and chief operating officer.
The changes in the bills amount to a 2 percent monthly increase, PG&E said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“This rate request prioritizes infrastructure and technology investments, such as automated valves and advanced in-line inspection robotic tools that will continue to enhance our ability to provide safe and reliable service,” Stavropoulos said.
PG&E’s request for higher rates would have to be approved by the state Public Utilities Commission.
San Francisco-based PG&E has come under increased regulatory scrutiny and widening public skepticism regarding its gas operations in the wake of a September 2010 explosion caused by PG&E that killed eight people and destroyed a San Bruno neighborhood.
In the largest financial punishment ever imposed on a U.S. utility, the PUC levied a $1.6 billion penalty on PG&E for causing the San Bruno blast. In August 2016, a federal grand jury found PG&E guilty for crimes it committed before and after the explosion, including the utility’s obstruction of a National Transportation Safety Board probe into the blast. PG&E’s flawed record-keeping and shoddy maintenance of its gas system caused the San Bruno explosion, the NTSB determined.
In January, PG&E became a convicted felon when a federal judge sentenced the utility on six criminal convictions issued by the jury.
PG&E also is under pressure from its potential liability that might arise from a disastrous series of infernos during October in the North Bay Wine Country and nearby areas that killed 43 people and torched at least 245,000 acres in six counties.
“As we continue to prioritize safety, we are also embracing our responsibility to continually improve our work and minimize impacts to customer bills, Stavropoulos said.
