ALJ/MAB/acr/oma Date of Issuance 4/20/2012
Decision 12-04-010 April 19, 2012
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission's Own Motion to Adopt New Safety and Reliability Regulations for Natural Gas Transmission and Distribution Pipelines and Related Ratemaking Mechanisms. |
Rulemaking 11-02-019 (Filed February 24, 2011) |
DECISION AMENDING SCOPE OF RULEMAKING 11-02-019
AND ADDING RESPONDENTS
DECISION AMENDING SCOPE OF RULEMAKING 11-02-019 AND ADDING RESPONDENTS 11
2.1. Integrity Management Plans 44
2.2. Commission Review - General Rate Cases 99
2.4. Enforcement Proceedings 1212
2.5. Reports from the NTSB and the Independent Review Panel 1313
3. Next Steps on the Safety Journey 1818
4. Schedule and Procedural Issues 2424
APPENDIX A
DECISION AMENDING SCOPE OF RULEMAKING 11-02-019
AND ADDING RESPONDENTS
1. Summary
This order amends Order Instituting Rulemaking (R.) 11-02-019 to include complying with the requirements of Public Utilities Code Sections 961 and 963, which were recently enacted by Senate Bill (SB) 705 (Ch. 522, Stats. 2011). The new code sections require each gas corporation to develop and implement a plan for the safe and reliable operation of its gas pipeline facilities, and the Commission to accept, modify, or reject the plan by year-end 2012. The Legislature stated that: "It is the policy of the state that the commission and each gas corporation place safety of the public and gas corporation employees as the top priority. The commission shall take all reasonable and appropriate actions necessary to carry out the safety priority policy of this paragraph consistent with the principle of just and reasonable cost-based rates."1
Since the tragic events in San Bruno, this Commission has moved forward on numerous fronts to improve the safety of California's natural gas transmission and distribution systems. As analyzed in detail below, we are well underway with review and implementation of many of the natural gas transmission and distribution system safety issues set forth in Sections 961 and 963. We find, however, that our efforts have not fully addressed safety-related corporate culture and whether we should adopt enhanced standards for safety representations to the Commission. To initiate this review, we order management audits and financial audits of the gas corporations, beginning with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), the major gas corporations operating in California. We also order financial audits which include, but will not be limited to, comparing the authorized gas safety expenditures and capital investments to actual recorded amounts, and the rationale for any deviations. Further hearings are expected and will be set by the assigned Commissioner and Administrative Law Judge.
When the Commission issued R.11-02-019 in February 2011, we named PG&E, SDG&E, SoCalGas, and Southwest Gas Corporation as respondents in this proceeding. SB 705 applies to all gas corporations; therefore, we add the following gas corporations as respondents to this proceeding: West Coast Gas, Alpine Natural Gas, and Southern California Edison (Catalina Island), as well as natural gas storage companies, Wild Goose Storage LLC, Lodi Gas Storage, Gill Ranch Storage, and Central Valley Gas Storage. Sacramento Natural Gas Storage, LLC2 is added to the service list.
1 Pub. Util. Code § 963(b)(3).
2 Sacramento Natural Gas Storage, LLC, has pending before the Commission an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, Application (A.) 07-04-013 and must be added as a respondent if it is issued a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.
