PG&E to recheck electrical systems

PG&E plans to reinspect 16,400 overhead transformers and other electrical equipment—most of it in Santa Clara County—after an internal investigation found more than two dozen instances where its inspectors had falsely claimed to have checked underground electrical gear, a company spokesman said Thursday.

The decision to recheck the overhead equipment follows PG&E's disclosure earlier this year that it had fired four of its inspectors and several other contract employees after learning that 25 underground sites weren't inspected as workers had claimed.

Of those locations, six were in Santa Clara County, one was in San Mateo County and the rest were outside the Bay Area.

In a regulatory filing with the California Public Utilities Commission, PG&E said the overhead equipment to be rechecked had reportedly been inspected in 2010 and this year by the fired workers. It added that the PUC's staff had urged the overhead gear to be looked at again "to remove any question about whether its overhead facilities were properly inspected."

Noting that most of the Bay Area overhead systems to be rechecked are in Santa Clara County, with some others in San Francisco, PG&E spokesman Andrew Souvall said the work is expected to be done early next year, and "the cost of those reinspections will be paid by our shareholders."

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