it is also cpuc reform that is part of this. >> that is correct. the list i have seen as fairly extensive and includes a number of things, such as the three- year rule. the problem with litigation as it is just a long, expensive process. there is limited resources for this program. litigation is not usually the best option. commissioner schmeltzer: i just wanted to follow up on commissioner campos' question. my guess is when the tariff rule was adopted, there was some time within which it could have been challenged, but that time has passed. was that part of your question? it sounded like that has been some time ago that that was adopted. >> it has been some time. the cpuc retains discretion to revisit and modify any of the tools at anytime, and parties can petition for modification. they must state why they waited. i think we have a good case here, given the genie -- pg&e's change un position. we have missed the prescribed truck -- time right after the rule was adopted. >> nancy miller again. a good outcome of this meeting might be to ask staff to

we are getting some traction at the cpuc. on top of that, at the cpuc, we are looking at making the bond and not more fair. looking at the guarantee, performance bond, that is required in ab 117 that a cca must put out, to cover any entry fees that the local iou my experience, should the cca terminate and return the customers. if pg&e would have to go into the marketplace, purchase incremental energy. it is to protect their bundled customers. at least that is what the regulatory framework says. we have been looking at that, the method that is currently under consideration. it also has a significant bias to make that value be a lot higher. we have estimated, should we go through a full rollout, in some market conditions, a bond amount would vary depending on where prices were. it could be more than $200 million, the amount that san francisco would need to guarantee to pg&e. marin has been looking into this because it matters very much to their program. as they have been mentioning at the cpuc, there is really no market for suc

we are working against the cpuc on this. they have approved a settlement but we have some good comments from the commission arguing that that is unfair. our target for grenoble's will always be in excess of pg&e -- grenoble's will always be in excess of pg&e -- renewables will always be in excess of pg&e. that has been keeping us pretty busy, as well as the rfp process. now i want to introduce dawn weiss from the marin energy authority and david orth. supervisor mirkarimi: right before we bring up our guest, would not you say from the tenor of the senate panel hearing that you and i, and others, attended, that there is a sea change in sacramento recognizing the level of interference or obstructionist practices by the private utility so that it is now on the radar. municipal governments should be free to pursue, in a unfettered way, their ability to become a cca. would you say that that have now captured the attention of others? lines have potentially been crossed where now cpuc is being involved. >> absolutely, there is frus

or the legislature to direct the cpuc to change the three-year tariff rule. if there are other issues we can weigh in on, at least start the process in that way. commissioner mirkarimi: that makes sense. is that something you want to do for the next joint meeting or something you want to do today? >> i don't think we can do it today. this is a discussion item. commissioner mirkarimi: all right. >> it is an action item for lafco. it is a discussion item for the puc. we could take action. i think you could take action enter next meeting. we don't have to do this jointly. commissioner mirkarimi: we get to have all the fun. ok. commissioners, is that something -- do you mind if we do this right now? do i see any problems? we will do public comment after the of the speakers. commissioner schmeltzer: as far as moving forward, can we give authority -- can we take an action to give authority to our staff to work with the puc staff to craft a joint resolution? commissioner mirkarimi: yes. seconded by commissioner campos. very good. without objection. so moved. do you

i think the cpuc, if they have the tools, they would use those tools. they don't really have clear tools on how to develop -- deal with that kind of situation. a competition going on. commissioner mirkarimi: i hope they have the will. to be more supportive of local government against private utilities. >> that is true. part of the reason might be that they are used to investors and utilities. they will not regulate. there is a little bit inherent question among the staff people because they are not regulated. they have little bit of that. isn't it better if we regulate the entity? i think that they understand the problems of their, and i think that they are supportive of legislative changes to give them more power. commissioner mirkarimi: any questions? seeing none? -- none. public comment? public comment is closed. we will continue this to the color of the chair. >> item 6, public comment for items not on the agenda and future agenda items. commissioner mirkarimi: with a body like to suggest future agenda items? -- would anybody like to suggest future

. >> pg&e and cpuc met with spear in her office this morning. and going over state and federal inspection regulations. it will be months before the line can with brought back to full pressure. but spear says the lines should be safe in the meantime. >> the steps taken to reduce pressure the federal pipeline and hazardous materials administration has said is the most important step you can take. >> sem bliman says the cpuc is double checking to make sure there is accurate information about the age, and size of the pg&e pipes. >> as the richard clark said they're scrubbing their data base now. >> spears says corrosion damage and a leak are the common causes of the failure but have been ruled out. so the question is could it be something related to the combination of age and size? in that case the cpuc might start ordering other utilities to reduce pressure in their lines. and there is a much-needed break from the rain z spencer christian is a look to see when goitsing to start getting heavy again. >> we'll get to that later. live doppler 7 show th

. >> i want owe-to-make sure that the law is being followed by cpuc and pg&e relate together inspections process. to date i don't believe it has. >> in a conference call with reporters pg&e admitted records weren't accurate. >> we're reviewing ought records and turning that over to the ntsb as part of the review. >> the head of the company's gas engineering department went on to dispute the claim that the pipes were not properly inspected. >> there no difference in regulations between seamless pipe and those that have seams. >> there was no evidence of corrosion no, evidence of damage from someone digging into the pipe no. evidence of a preexplosion gas leak. and in spite of reports some residents smelled gas days before the eruption. >> and what would cause people california public utilities commission has not returned our repeated requests for information on which inspections are required for welded pipes and which were done. and for what caused the explosion, ntsb says it could make nos -- months before they're able to determine that. >> a mother was killed in sacramento today. the in

it could be an uphill battle for it to convince the cpuc because a law judge already suggested dismissinghe proposal. they say the meters are safe. >>> a man from san bruno says he has a reason sell -- million reasons to celebrate. he became an instant m illionaire. he said he danced around the store when the ticket was s canned an his $1 million prize was confirm. he has two plans. first pay off his house, second take a trip to las vegas. into a season of n of giving survival for millions of americans. >>> plus -- >> she said i lied. she did it. she did it. >> this dog helped save her family from a burning home while barely escaping herself. tonight a happy reunion -- r eunion and the help 245 is still needed. >>> right now, i'm -- i'm p icking up showers north of here i will let you know when they are gonna get here. see you back here in just a minute. >>> the government's u nemployment figures are not due out until friday, but there's suggestions that hiring sup. the dow closed up nearly 250 points. the nasdaq was up a little more than 51 points. this year's cyber monday brought in rec

through that complaint, there was ultimately a cpuc-assisted settlement in july of 2008. probably the most important piece of that settlement is a public admission by pg&e that they really changed their minds on not cooperating but simply intending to market against cca effort. that change in their senior management policy occurred in january of 2007. we kind of flushed them out, if you will, and started to better understand the playing field, as ever tilted as it is, that we were going to have to deal with going forward. i mentioned earlier that we were forced to suspend our efforts in june of 2009. the erosion of the credit market that occurred in the fall of 2008 had serious impact on our efforts. it had serious impact on what citigroup energy, the supplier we renegotiating with, were capable to offer us. we had a substantial amount of risk position. citigroup was willing to take it relative to credit. we had secured a $40 million line of working capital credit to support our program. we have price certainty provisions worked into the contract. we all know the erosion

. >> we would like some more answers from the ntsb and the cpuc as to, of course, what happened on theeline. >> the san francisco chronicle reported today that an audit of pg&e pipeline performed four months before the september explosion suggests the utility took short-cuts during its inspections of the high pressure natural gas line. >>> the lame duck congress has begun its last week of work before the new members of congress take their seats. lawmakers have a long to do list. >> the senate will come to order. >> reporter: senators met for a rare sunday session to debate a nuclear arms pact with russia. it's the fifth day the senate has considered the stark treaty. senator john kerry is spearheading the initiative with the president's backing. >> the leader of the strategic command, current and the past former seven support this treaty. the national intelligence community supports this treaty. >> reporter: but some republicans say congress is moving too fast. minority leader mitch mcconnell says he'll vote against the treaty. >> all of a sudden we're once again trying to rush things

cpuc, and residents. the pipeline sat in water today, the road it sits under is closed to traffic. work continues on the damaged home that's survived. -- survived n a forum the goal is to prevent another disaster like this one. >> there has been lax oversight. the california public utilities commission has not untheir job responsibly around this state. creating a problem. >> it's so far off markets. it's laughable. p.u.c. effort over 10 years is not to say we wnt knt improve it and there is when he says the federal government created safety regulations after horrific accidents. >> the federal rule making that were almost 10 years ago were risks. whether or not people are following this. >> we follow every federal regulation. and want to work. we look forward to working with on his bill and closely with state federal legislative leaders as they work to create a thorough pipeline safety bill. >> cooperwood said he's not here to offer accusations or offer an opinion. >> i think in the area of inspections there is going to be more discussion about the capabilities and incapabilities of

. >> i want to make sure that this law is being followed by cpuc and pg&e. >> and to date i don't believe it has. >> do you think it's given a pass? >> the california public utilities commission does not return our repeated requests for information but pg&e president admitted the utility is undertaking a review. >> we've been taking steps to reassure customer that's they can have confidence in pg&e's system. >> residents in the san bruno neighborhood are not reassured. >> we'd like to note truth of the situation and reality of it. that is very distressing news. >> chris jackson says regulators should have checked on pg&e. >> there is we pay our state to do this. >> the head of the engineering department says the pipe had been proper lynn suspected. >> there is no difference in regulations between seamless pipes and those that have seam autos congress woman spear asked to all attend a neighborhood meeting this sunday to get to the bottom that have issue. and the ntsb's preliminary report says it could be many months before the inspectors know what caused this blast but sate was one of the

find the pipes they must reduce pressure by 20% before pge can raise the pressure they must get the cpuc permission. >> we have a jurisdiction over and looking for the problem in the system and taking the appropriate agency. pge plans to return to the area to further their investigation. in san bruno, paul chalmers, ktvu, channel 2 news. >>> san francisco supervisors next month would decide the rate of those iconic rainbow banners in the castro district. flags have been on the post for a decade, but the mission delegeros neighborhood association contends that they would be put up illegal. a city ordinance only allows temporary banners on the posts, which were designated city landmarks. the conservatives and fasteners could rust and damage the ornamental lamp post . supervisor dusty is calling for legislation that is designed to save the barnes while keeping the posts safe. >>> state officials in rhode island say they are definitely in the running to hold the next america's cup. reports of negotiations with newport, rhode island came to light shortly after san francisco changed its propos

they must reduce the pressure by 24%, before they could raise the pressure again, they must get the cpuc's permission. >> all the utilities around the state of california, we're looking for this problem in their system and that they are taking the appropriate action. >> and now the ntsb says there is still a year or more from identifying the probable cause of the explosion to return next month to further their investigation. live in san bruno, paul chambers ktvu 2 news. >>> bmworacle racing have not made a final decision. but newport, rhode island is in the running. it came to life shortly after san francisco changed their race from the proposal on the southern water front to the northern water front. and there are conflicting reports as to whether or not he was happy with that change. and the race is expected to be announced before the endf the month. one last note, it appears that he bought a multi-million dollar mansion in newport earlier this month. >> and doctors in southern california, they have come up with a new way to do the heart transplants. they say that it could significantly

. >> we would like some more answers from the ntsb and the cpuc as to, of course, what happened on the pipelines. >> the "san francisco chronicle" reported today that an audit of pg&e pipelines performed four months before the september explosion suggests the utility took shortcuts during its inspection of the gas lines. >>> if san mateo county wants to build a new jail in oscar grant the board of supervisors may have to take action soon. the san francisco examiner says the cost of four properties off chemical way would cost $17.4 million now but further delays could add an estimated half million dollars to that cost. the county is trying to address jail overcrowding issues. the new facility would be a correction 23458 center with a focus on inmate rehabilitation. supervisors plan to hold a special meeting tomorrow. >>> and the america's cup regatta may not be a shoe-in for san francisco. newport, rhode island leaders say the bmw oracle team headed by larry ellison is interested in their city. san francisco put in its bid last week and is considered a favorite since ellison lives here

. >> we would like some more answers from the ntsb and the cpuc as to, of course, what happened on the pipelines. >> the "san francisco chronicle" reports that an audit of the pg&e pipelines performed four months before the september explosion suggest that utility took shortcuts during its inspections of the high pressure natural gas lines. >>> so far the series of winter storms hasn't been as treacherous as earlier feared because it's causing lots of problems though in the bay area. take a look at some of the minor flooding yesterday near the highway 1 exit from u.s. 101 in marin county. floodwaters in redwood city cut off access to a mobile home park. they had to wait for fire department to clear the water. a storm crashed in el cerrito street. it brought down power lines and slammed into a home. no one was injured. a similar problem in marin county where a tree branch came down on power lines in san geronimo. crews cut the branches and cleared the wood from the road. >>> so how much more rain will we see and what is going to be hang on saturday, christmas day? tracy has your forecas