PG&E to charge more so it can upgrade system

[Newsjock]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

California energy regulators on Thursday gave Pacific Gas and Electric Co. permission to spend $366.6 million upgrading its electricity grid to fight blackouts, money that will come from the utility's customers.

While substantial, the amount pales in comparison with the $2.05 billion that PG&E wanted to spend on its Cornerstone Improvement Project. The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously agreed that the company hadn't justified the larger expense.

Commissioners also openly questioned PG&E's priorities.

... "Certainly in the last six months to a year, its preoccupation does seem to be on things other than the maintenance of its system," said commission President Michael Peevey. "I think all of us share a concern ... that it would be nice if the management of the company focused on delivering product to its customers."

... "The commissioners asked the same question the consumers have been asking: If you've got $46 million to flush down the toilet on Prop. 16, why don't you spend that money on reliability instead?" said Mindy Spatt, spokeswoman for The Utility Reform Network consumer watchdog group, which opposed the proposition.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/24/BU001E4FS6.DTL