Group: Penalty For PG&E Explosion Not Nearly Enough

A portion of San Bruno devastated by the 2010 explosion | Photo: Thomas Hawk/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Though regulators are insisting that Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) pay a record $2.25 billion in penalties for its role in a disastrous September 2010 gas line explosion in San Bruno, a ratepayer activist group says that doesn't go nearly far enough. The Utility Reform Network (TURN), which has been watch-dogging California utilities for decades, says that PG&E should pay almost $1.7 billion in additional penalties.

Killing Endangered Bats Worth $1 Million Each Per Year

An understandably upset little brown bat | Photo: USFWS/Flickr/Creative Commons License

In case you thought the wildlife and wind turbine conflict issue was limited to eagles, condors, and California, think again. A Vermont wind installation is seeking permission to legally kill four endangered bats a year with its turbines, and says that the permit would save the company $4 million a year.

Regulator: 'Throw the Book at PG&E'

San Bruno on fire, Spetember 2010 | Photo: Mister Oh/Flickr/Creative Commons License

The head of the safety division of California's ratepayer protection agency has blasted Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) over the utility's reaction to a proposed $2.25 billon penalty stemming from a 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno that killed eight people. In a reply to PG&E's calling the proposed penalty "excessive," the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) Emory J. (Jack) Hagan repeatedly referred to the utility's "lack of remorse," saying "It's time to throw the book at PG&E."

It's Official: SoCal Edison Notifies Feds of Nuclear Plant Shutdown

San Onofre | Photo: Jason Hickey/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Southern California Edison (SCE) has made it official: the utility informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that it has closed down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station -- forever.

CA Wind Facilities Want Permits That Will Allow Them to Harm Eagles

Wind turbines in Solano County | Photo: Corey seeman/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Four California-based wind power facilities have applied to the federal government for permits to harm eagles, ReWire has learned.

The applications, revealed as the result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) search by an Oklahoma journalist, would shield the wind power companies from prosecution under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) if eagles are injured or killed by their turbines.

San Bernardino County Bans New Solar Power Plants Temporarily

A proposed 30-acre solar development on this site in Joshua Tree is now subject to a county-wide moratorium | Chris Clarke photo

Responding to what they called a rash of complaints about commercial solar developments in residential areas, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to put a hold on new projects until it can craft a county-wide policy.

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