CPUC

CPUC boss had backchannel dealingsU-T San DiegoCalifornia Public Utilities Commission President Michael Picker has had regular backchannel communications with a consultant and political insider who has a West Los Angeles power deal pending before the commission. Susan Kennedy, former chief of … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie Abraham | Zennie … Read more

California Public Utilities Commission delays vote on Comcast-TWC dealLos Angeles TimesLast month, opponents of the proposed Comcast transaction criticized the PUC for holding its public hearing in San Francisco rather than in Southern California, where the merger would have its most dramatic effect. The PUC initially had scheduled a …California Commission Delays Vote On Comcast-Time … Read more

Emails show attorney basic is investigatingChronicle BulletinState Attorney Basic Kamala Harris quietly opened an investigation final month into the California Public Utilities Commission concerning rate-setting procedures and the gas-line explosion in San Bruno, according to emails obtained by The Sacramento Bee. …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie Abraham | Zennie Abraham … Read more

Chairman prods PUC on Warsaw emailsU-T San DiegoDays after the new California Public Utilities Commission president testified that he is committed to reforming the agency, the chairman of the Assembly committee that oversees utilities is calling for Michael Picker to make good on his word …“Dark Clouds” Hang Over $4.7B San Onofre Closure SettlementNBC 7 … Read more

Committee grills CPUC on San OnofreU-T San DiegoState lawmakers grilled the new California Public Utilities Commission president Monday, asking why utility customers are being charged billions of dollars for the failure and premature shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear power plant. Members of the …PUC’s questionable hiring of criminal attorney: Thomas EliasLA Daily News Contra … Read more

New CPUC chief wants to slap PG&E with a bigger fine for San Bruno explosionSacramento Business Journal (blog)Michael Picker, the new president of the California Public Utilities Commission, late Friday proposed to fine Pacific Gas & Electric $1.6 billion in connection with the September 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion and fire and the aftermath. … Read more

New CPUC boss wants to slap PG&E with a bigger fine for San Bruno explosionSan Francisco Business Times (blog)Michael Picker, the new president of the California Public Utilities Commission, late Friday proposed to fine Pacific Gas & Electric $1.6 billion in connection with the September 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion and fire, and their … Read more

More astonishing tales about state Public Utilities CommissionU-T San DiegoIt’s not normal for a state agency to have its image turned upside-down in just a few months time, but that’s what’s happened to the California Public Utilities Commission. The PUC used to have a mixed reputation as a sporadically aggressive defender … …read more From:: … Read more

Lawyer: CPUC boss made power playU-T San DiegoA onetime utility company lawyer accused former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey on Wednesday of imposing a quid pro quo on San Diego Gas & Electric, coercing the company into making a $740 million power purchase …PUC’s Peevey pushed terms of 2003 SDG&E energy deal, lawyer … Read more

Lawsuit Questions CPUC Hiring Criminal Defense AttorneysNBC 7 San DiegoA lawsuit filed in San Diego demands California Public Utility Commission officials explain why the government agency has hired criminal defense attorneys using taxpayer funds. The suit filed in federal court Monday alleges the CPUC has violated state …California PUC Aims to Replace Shuttered Nuclear and … Read more

Proof of CPUC boss’s payment pendingU-T San DiegoU-T Watchdog was reporting a couple of weeks ago about Michael Picker, the new president of the California Public Utilities Commission, and his role in the $250-a-seat send-off dinner for former president Michael Peevey. The soiree last month was held … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google … Read more

Lawsuit contests CPUC lawyer hiringU-T San DiegoA San Diego law firm is demanding that the California Public Utilities Commission try again, in retaining the services of a criminal defense attorney, claiming the right process was not followed the first time. As first reported by U-T San Diego, the … …read more From:: CPUC News By … Read more

New Carlsbad power plant in doubtU-T San DiegoThe recommendation signals that the California Public Utilities Commission may reject a contract between New Jersey-based power plant operator NRG Energy and San Diego Gas & Electric, which would underwrite construction of a smaller plant next to … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie … Read more

Bonuses under scrutiny at California utilitiesU-T San DiegoBonuses that cost utility customers $5 million or more would be subject to a review by the California Public Utilities Commission with at least one public hearing to determine whether the compensation is justified. In a statement, Gonzalez said the … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google … Read more

Sale clears PUC hurdleVictorville Daily PressThe town was asking Apple Valley Ranchos Water Company to conduct a California Environmental Quality Act review to proceed with the purchase of Yermo Water Company. But the PUC ruled that Apple Valley Ranchos is exempt from doing that review. …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie … Read more

California Public Utilities Commission holds Comcast hearingLos Angeles TimesThe California Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote March 26 on a proposed transfer of licenses currently held by Time Warner Cable. Comcast also would pick up customers served by Charter Communications in the Los Angeles region.and more …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News … Read more

Dinner for ex-PUC chief Peevey nets $55000 in gifts for UC BerkeleyLos Angeles TimesMore than $55,000 was donated to UC Berkeley in honor of former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey, who stepped down in December amid scandal. Representatives from eight labor unions, a rooftop solar power company and … …read more From:: CPUC … Read more

CPUC to Meet Over Comcast-TWC DealMultichannel NewsThe CPUC is looking at broadband and phone issues, rather than video. In a Feb. 13 decision, the ALJ recommended that the state approve the merger with more than a dozen conditions, including improving customer service, providing backup batteries for …Cable-merger regulators schedule party, but not voteCapital New York … Read more

Backlog grows for utilities documentsU-T San DiegoSo many lawyers and journalists have asked utility regulators for public records of late that state officials have begun delaying fulfillment of requests indefinitely instead of meeting required time frames. The California Public Utilities Commission … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie Abraham | Zennie … Read more

Hugo Morales: CPUC can close Digital DivideFresno BeeCalifornia Public Utilities Commission Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer issued a proposed decision that spells out conditions that Comcast must agree to before gaining CPUC approval of its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. The CPUC … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie Abraham … Read more

Regulator let PG&E investigate itself after San Bruno blastSFGateCalifornia Public Utilities Commission officials allowed Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to investigate itself after the company revealed in 2012 that it had failed to police its major gas pipelines to the point where trees, buildings and even swimming …and more …read more From:: CPUC News By … Read more

California sets tough rules for Comcast dealPacific Coast Business TimesThe CPUC’s conditions now hinge on a corresponding approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice. The date for the FCC’s ruling on the $45 billion deal that would allow Comcast to absorb Time Warner has been …Calif. judge recommends Comcast-Time Warner deal … Read more

Assembly Committee Hearing To Focus On Communications Between State …KPBS“We saw in the State Parks Department a tremendous number of problems there that could have been caught with better oversight by the legislature, and now we’re seeing problems at the CPUC that I think could have been caught with better oversight as … …read more … Read more

Utility agency taps $882-an-hour lawyerU-T San DiegoThe California Public Utilities Commission has hired one of the top criminal defense attorneys in the state to respond to investigations of improper contact between regulators and the utility companies they oversee. San Francisco lawyer Raymond … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie Abraham | … Read more

OPINION: The Truth Always PrevailsPagosa Daily PostSan Francisco Chronicle writer Jaxon Van Derbeken reported that investigators with the attorney general’s office executed a search warrant on January 27, 2015 at the home of Michael Peevey, former California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) president … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie Abraham | … Read more

Workers call for San Onofre probeU-T San DiegoThe letter was prompted by a U-T San Diego report that an Edison executive met secretly in Warsaw, Poland, with former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey two years ago to sketch out a framework for resolving the San Onofre …Hearings planned on roles of Public Utilities … Read more

California Public Utilities Commission recommends to approve Comcast mergerReutersFeb 14 (Reuters) – Comcast Corp said on Friday that a California Public Utilities Commission Administrative (CPUC) law judge recommended to approve its pending $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable and related transactions with Charter …Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger wins preliminary California endorsementLos Angeles Times Comcast … Read more

Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger wins preliminary California endorsementLos Angeles TimesCable giant Comcast Corp. has received its first major government endorsement of its proposed $45-billion purchase of Time Warner Cable. On Friday, an administrative law judge in San Francisco recommended the California Public Utilities Commission …California Official Recommends Approval of Comcast-TW Cable Merger But With …Variety … Read more

State Senator Calls Dinner Honoring Former CPUC President “Shameful”NBC Bay AreaA $250-a-plate dinner is being held in San Francisco to honor former California Public Utilities President Michael Peevey, who is currently the target of a corruption investigation by the state attorney general. Mark Matthews reports. (Published …Amid protest, a call for a more ethical Public … Read more

Lawmakers press for tighter leash on CPUCSFGateSACRAMENTO — Two Bay Area state senators are proposing bills for greater oversight and transparency at the California Public Utilities Commission in the wake of revelations that executives at Pacific Gas and Electric Co. colluded with top officials at …Meeting links CPUC probe to San OnofreU-T San Diego Edison … Read more

Furor over $250-a-plate party honoring former CPUC headSFGateFormer state Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey — whose home was recently searched by investigators looking into possible corruption at the agency — will be feted Thursday night with a $250-a-plate fundraiser for UC Berkeley’s … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie Abraham … Read more

Controversial former CPUC president to be feted in San Francisco ThursdaySan Francisco Business Times (blog)Michael Peevey, the former head of the California Public Utilities Commission whose Southern California home was raided recently by state investigators, is being feted in San Francisco Thursday for “a lifetime of service to the people of California … …read more … Read more

Embattled Ex-CPUC Chief Michael Peevey To Be Honored For ‘Lifetime Of …CBS LocalSAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Amid accusations of being too cozy with the power companies he regulated, former California Public Utilities Commission president Michael Peevey will be the guest of honor at a dinner in San Francisco on Thursday. The dinner …Meeting links … Read more

Peevey scandal reaches San Onofre nuclear plantU-T San DiegoTuesday’s U-T Watchdog revelation that then-California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey met secretly in May 2013 at a Polish hotel with a Southern California Edison attorney sharply expands the scandal Peevey already faces because … …read more From:: CPUC News By Google News Zennie AbrahamZennie Abraham … Read more

Edison notifies utilities commission of conversation between ex-execs on …Fox BusinessROSEMEAD, Calif. – Southern California Edison said Monday that it has given notice to the California Public Utilities Commission of a conversation between executives from the two organizations about efforts to reopen a nuclear plant that was shut down …Meeting links CPUC probe to San … Read more