SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric was charged Tuesday with lying to regulators in connection with a fatal pipeline explosion that killed eight people and leveled a suburban Northern California neighborhood in 2010.

The U.S. attorney in San Francisco announced the obstruction of justice charge and 27 related counts, which are in a new indictment charging the utility with felonies. It replaces a previous indictment that contained 12 counts related to PG&E’s safety practices, but not obstruction.

Prosecutors say PG&E hampered the investigation by lying to regulators soon after the blast. In particular, PG&E officials are accused of telling National Transportation Safety Board investigators that the safety procedures being followed were correct and approved.

The other charges accuse the utility of failing to act on threats in its pipeline system even after the problems were identified by its own inspectors. The indictment charges PG&E with keeping shoddy records, failing to identify safety threats and failing to act when threats were found.

…No employees or executives have been charged in the San Bruno disaster. Prosecutors could still file another indictment charging individuals.

The utility announced in June that it was expecting the new indictment. PG&E spokesman Greg Snapper said company officials had not yet seen it.

“However, based on all of the evidence we have seen to date, we do not believe that the charges are warranted and that, even where mistakes were made, employees were acting in good faith to provide customers with safe and reliable energy,” he said in a prepared statement.

… On Tuesday, San Bruno City Manager Jim Ruane said “the new criminal charges demonstrate a pattern of deceit by PG&E.”

Complete article:
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/news/ci_26240331/pg-amp-e-charged-obstruction-over-san-bruno
PG&E charged with obstruction over San Bruno blast
Santa Cruz Sentinel
July 29, 2014