PG&E Must Run 12,500 TV Ads Saying It’s Guilty of Lax Safety
- Utility sentenced for safety crimes following fatal explosion
- Judge issues maximum $3 million fine for ‘serious’ violations
In this Sept. 9, 2010 file photo, a massive fire roars through a mostly residential neighborhood in San Bruno, California.
Photographer: Michael Sah/AP PhotoThis article is for subscribers only.
PG&E Corp. was ordered take out television and newspaper advertisements announcing that the company was found guilty of violating safety standards in the wake of a 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people.
A San Francisco federal judge on Thursday also directed “high-level personnel” at the utility to do 2,000 hours of community service and sentenced the company to a maximum-allowed fine of $3 million, saying the its crimes were “very serious and pose great risk to the public safety.” During a trial last year, prosecutors backed off a proposal to seek a penalty of as much as $562 million.