Update 1:25 p.m. The city of San Bruno and PG&E today seemed to be at loggerheads — an extreme euphemism, perhaps — when the city announced that PG&E had walked away from negotiations on compensating San Bruno for the 2010 pipeline disaster.
But at a press conference, which was originally scheduled to discuss the breakdown of talks, Mayor Jim Ruane said that soon after San Bruno’s announcement, PG&E agreed to come back to the table. He also said he thought the city publicizing the collapse of negotiations had something to do with that.
As to how far apart the two parties were in negotiations, Ruane said that PG&E had been offering the bare minimum set by law, agreeing only to reimburse the city direct costs related to the accident. He said, “PG&E is dodging its commitment to make the city whole.”
Ruane also announced that San Bruno has filed a petition with the CPUC to become part of any settlement that the regulatory agency reaches with PG&E over San Bruno.
So…PG&E then held a conference call, conducted by its SVP for Corporate Affairs. Here’s what he said:
- As to what the differences may be between San Bruno and PG&E in terms of negotiations: “We have a confidentiality agreement with the city, so I can’t be specific… It’s about providing money above and beyond” the $100 million Rebuild San Bruno fund, which is meant to reimburse affected residents, and a $70 million pot from which the city can make requests for reimbursement. Pruitt said the city wanted more money for “capital improvement projects,” or “some other type of activities the city feels would be necessary for recovery and would prove beneficial to its residents.”
- As to Ruane’s claim that PG&E is coming back to the table only because San Bruno publicized the dispute: “We’re available any time the city wants to meet with us, almost 24 hours, 7 days a week…We were scheduled to give them a call today to suggest that we would meet with them on Friday. The two events were not connected.”
- On San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane’s worry that PG&E’s gas operations might go belly up, affecting PG&E’s ability to pay San Bruno compensation, he said, “our operations are solid. PG&E is a solvent enterprise. Chances of bankruptcy are non-existent. I have heard that the city was concerned about that…they have been assured that is not the situation.”
Here is a PG&E fact sheet (pdf) that the company says outlines the amount of reimbursement provided to date.