Tomorrow is the deadline for PG&E to submit documentation on its network of gas pipes. The California Public Utilities Commission ordered the company to verify the safety of the pipeline after investigators found that PG&E's records erroneously showed the pipe segment that exploded in the San Bruno disaster as seamless, when in fact it contained multiple flawed welds, which should have triggered more rigorous inspections and testing.
In order to search through tens of thousands of boxes, each filled with potentially relevant documents, PG&E rented the Cow Palace as a base of operations. (See Chronicle photos from the scene.)
KQED's Tara Siler today interviewed Paul Clanon, Executive Director of the California Public Utilities Commission, about tomorrow's document dump. Clanon said depending on what is revealed in the submission, the commission might immediately order testing or lowering of pressure within the pipeline, and said he thought it was "extremely likely" that some required testing was in PG&E's future.
He also answered questions about who will be responsible for paying for any tests and possible pipeline replacement, ratepayers or PG&E, and whether the company faces any significant financial penalties.
Listen to the interview: