PG&E's $2.2 billion pipeline plan triggers outrage

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http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_18766199?source=rss


PG&E on Friday unveiled an extensive pipeline modernization plan that would cost $2.2 billion over the next four years -- an effort to prevent another disaster like the one that incinerated San Bruno last year.

But the company outraged consumer advocates and elected officials by proposing that customers pick up 90 percent of the expense.

The plan -- which calls for overhauling 20 percent of PG&E's pipeline system by inspecting hundreds of miles of aged pipe, replacing other gas lines and adding automated valves to shut off gas in emergencies -- must be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission. PG&E said it also plans additional pipeline upgrades after that, but did not detail the cost.

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"It's outrageous that the public would be asked to pay 90 percent of the cost," said Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo. "They have neglected those lines for 50 years."

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there is going to be this same kind of outrage popping up all over the country