I. INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

By this order, the Commission institutes a formal investigation to determine whether the named Respondent, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), violated any provision or provisions of the California Public Utilities Code, Commission general orders or decisions, or other applicable rules or requirements pertaining to safety recordkeeping for its gas service and facilities. This proceeding will pertain to PG&E's safety recordkeeping for the San Bruno, California gas transmission pipeline that ruptured on September 9, 2010, killing eight persons. This investigation will also review and determine whether PG&E's recordkeeping practices for its entire gas transmission system have been unsafe and in violation of the law.

The Respondent is PG&E, a privately owned public utility, subject to the safety and rate jurisdiction and regulation of this Commission, and to California law and the Commission's general orders, rules, and decisions. The Commission enforces a variety of federal and state laws that impose safety requirements pertaining to the design, construction, inspection, testing, operation, and maintenance of utility gas gathering, transmission, and distribution piping systems, and for the safe operation of such lines and equipment. This investigation will assess PG&E's compliance with the law pertaining to safety-related recordkeeping for natural gas transmission pipelines.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is the federal safety agency charged with responsibility for investigating the San Bruno rupture and its causes. To date, the NTSB has publicly released three reports pertaining to the San Bruno pipeline rupture. The Commission will accept facts stated in these reports as accurate, solely for the purpose of commencing this investigation. Certain key factual assertions are stated below. We will provide PG&E with ample opportunity to contest any factual assertions the NTSB makes in any of its reports about the San Bruno incident, and to contest any factual assertion made at any time by any other party to this investigation.