Prof. David Levine Comments on PG&E Proposal

The San Francisco Chronicle talks to Professor David Levine about Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s liability for last week's San Bruno, CA gas-line explosion. PG&E is backing a proposal that would bill customers to pay the costs of fires that exceed a utility's insurance coverage. Prof. Levine remarks that the utility is responsible for all harm that it caused, regardless of negligence.

San Bruno blast: PG&E backs bid to bill public
San Francisco Chronicle
September 14, 2010 -- State regulators will take their first look today at a proposal backed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. that would require customers to pay all costs of catastrophic fires, such as last week's gas-line explosion in San Bruno, that exceed a utility's insurance coverage. It's not clear whether the plan, if approved by the state Public Utilities Commission, would trigger a PG&E rate increase to help pay the utility's cost from Thursday's disaster.

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