PG&E To Pay $565 Million in San Bruno Pipeline Blast Settlements

By Sudhin Thanawala 
Associated Press

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. expects to pay a total of $565 million in legal settlements and other claims from the deadly 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, the utility said.

The figure includes $455 million that PG&E has already agreed to pay and $110 million it expects to pay in connection with recent settlements and claims, PG&E said in a filing with federal regulators on Monday.

The company reached settlements with 347 blast victims on Friday and Monday, PG&E spokeswoman Brittany Chord said. It had previously reached settlements with 152 people. Two plaintiffs' cases remain.

Asked what was holding up the two remaining cases, Chord said she could not speak to the specifics of any particular case. "We are committed to resolving these matters as quickly and as fairly as possible,'' she said.

The money for the claims will come from shareholders, not ratepayers, Chord said. Some portion also will be covered by insurance.

The explosion of a high-pressure transmission line on Sept. 9, 2010, sparked a gas-fueled fire in San Bruno that destroyed 38 homes and laid waste to parts of the same neighborhood. Eight people died, and others suffered burn injuries.

PG&E was hit with about 160 lawsuits from people who lost family members, suffered injuries or had property damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board has blamed failures by PG&E and weak oversight by regulators for the blast, which it said was directly caused by substandard welds and other problems dating back to the installation of the pipeline decades earlier.

The company's inadequate inspection program for pipelines, which allowed the bad welds and other weaknesses to go undetected, also contributed, the board said.

State investigators have said PG&E violated safety rules and kept poor records.

PG&E has accepted liability for the disaster in numerous public statements but has denied most of state investigators' allegations.

See KQED's extensive coverage of the San Bruno blast, investigation and aftermath.