utility regulation – Page 3 – Steve Blum's Blog

PG&E faces pole attachment shot clock, as CPUC arbitrator hands Crown Castle a win

6 March 2019 by Steve Blum
cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

An administrative law judge gave Crown Castle a victory of sorts in a dispute over terms for attaching fiber optic cable to utility poles that Pacific Gas and Electric owns. Assuming the California Public Utilities Commission signs off on the finding, the arbitrated decision by ALJ Patricia Miles leaves PG&E’s leasing model and most of its standard terms in place. But, in effect, it also establishes a 45 day shot clock for responding to attachment requests and allows Crown Castle to do some work on poles without notifying PG&E and to be notified, in some circumstances, if work affecting its cables is planned.… More

PG&E admits responsibility for deadly Camp Fire, pegs liability at $10.5 billion and climbing

1 March 2019 by Steve Blum
CampFire, cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

Cal Fire’s official investigation isn’t over, but Pacific Gas and Electric has concluded that it was at least partly to blame for the Camp Fire in Butte County in November, which killed 86 people. In a financial filing yesterday, PG&E laid out the evidence from the transmission tower where the fire began, and the financial consequences…

The company believes it is probable that its equipment will be determined to be an ignition point of the 2018 Camp Fire…

On November 14, 2018, the company observed a broken C-hook attached to the separated suspension insulator that had connected the suspension insulator to a tower arm, along with wear at the connection point.

… More

Telecoms takes a backseat in Sacramento, but PG&E could end up a hood ornament

25 February 2019 by Steve Blum
cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, sb549, utility regulation

Telecommunications in general, and broadband in particular, aren’t getting much attention at the California capitol this year. Friday was the deadline for introducing new bills for this year and, aside from privacy issues, nothing regarding telecoms that’s particularly substantive landed in the hopper.

Pacific Gas and Electric company and the California Public Utilities Commission, on the other hand, are in the gunsights of senator Jerry Hill (D- San Mateo). He floated a bill on Friday that would take much of the job of regulating PG&E away from the CPUC, and give it to the California legislature (h/t to Fred Pilot at the Eldo Telecom blog for the pointer).… More

Crown Castle, PG&E punt fiber attachment dispute back to CPUC

11 February 2019 by Steve Blum
cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

Crown Castle and PG&E failed to reach agreement on pole attachment terms, as directed by the California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge (ALJ) arbitrating their ongoing dispute. Instead, PG&E submitted its standard pole space leasing agreement, and Crown Castle submitted the same, with several modifications that make it more to its liking.

The heart of their dispute is that Crown Castle wants to buy attachment space on poles, and PG&E just wants to lease it to them.… More

CPUC judge wants complex pole attachment issues to be even more complicated

1 February 2019 by Steve Blum
cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

Utility pole associations, which manage joint use of poles by electric utilities – privately and municipally owned – and telecoms companies of all sorts, should be regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, according to a ruling by an administrative law judge (ALJ). The ruling focuses on a narrow dispute between two companies: big picture, it’s little more than advice to CPUC commissioners. But it’s bad advice.

The ruling concerns a dispute between Pacific Gas and Electric, which owns poles throughout northern California, and Crown Castle, which is an independent, competitive telecoms company that owns and leases fiber routes, and builds and operates cell sites.… More

Federal judge slams PG&E and CPUC for deadly wildfires

31 January 2019 by Steve Blum
CampFire, cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

A federal judge lambasted Pacific Gas and Electric’s and the California Public Utilities Commission’s wildfire prevention efforts, and the California supreme court allowed a key wildfire cost sharing decision by the CPUC to stand yesterday. That follows PG&E’s bankruptcy filing on Tuesday.

Judge William Alsup is PG&E’s probation officer. The corporation was convicted of criminal misconduct following a deadly natural gas line explosion in San Bruno in 2010, and it is accountable to Alsup for how well it’s complying with the penalties handed down, which include good behavior requirements.… More

California’s utility costs, regulation in play as PG&E files for bankruptcy

30 January 2019 by Steve Blum
CampFire, cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

Pacific Gas and Electric filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday, beginning a process that could lead to significant changes in how electricity and natural gas service is delivered in northern California, and how much it costs. It also has the potential for changing the cost sharing calculations that determine how much telecoms companies pay to share poles and conduit with PG&E.

Assuming the federal court allows the bankruptcy to go forward – not a safe assumption according to analysts quoted by Barrons – private contracts and some regulatory directives by the California Public Utilities Commission could be, um, reimagined.… More

California is losing its grip on utility service and infrastructure

15 January 2019 by Steve Blum
CampFire, cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

The future of northern California’s energy supply, and the utility pole routes that support it, will be largely in the hands of federal judges. Pacific Gas and Electric gave notice yesterday that it will, in all likelihood, file for bankruptcy protection in two weeks. The company said that it may have to pay as much as $30 billion in damages stemming from catastrophic wildfires it apparently played a role in starting in 2017 and 2018.… More

PG&E pulls the plug, filing for bankruptcy

14 January 2019 by Steve Blum
CampFire, cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

With liabilities from California wildfires amounting to unknown billions of dollars, Pacific Gas and Electric company announced this morning that it plans to file for bankruptcy as soon as it’s legally able to do so. According to a company press release…

The Company today provided the 15-day advance notice required by recently enacted California law that it and its wholly owned subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric Company (the “Utility”) currently intend to file petitions to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S.

… More

PG&E faces possible breakup, government takeover

23 December 2018 by Steve Blum
CampFire, cpuc, PGE, pole attachment, utility regulation

Pacific Gas and Electric could be broken up, reorganised or brought under closer control by the California Public Utilities Commission. The decision to launch a broad investigation into PG&E’s future, including the possibility of a public takeover, was made by commission president Michael Picker and released late on Friday, after financial markets had closed and the holiday exodus had begun.

Radical action of this sort, taken against a major utility, is cause for concern by telecoms companies too.… More