PG&E : December 31, 2018 – PG&E’s Response and Exhibits to the Court’s Notice

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

JENNER & BLOCK LLP

Randy Mehrberg (pro hac vice)[e-mail]

Reid J. Schar (pro hac vice)[e-mail]

353 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654-3456

Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone]

CLARENCE DYER & COHEN LLP

Kate Dyer (Bar No. 171891)[e-mail]899 Ellis Street

San Francisco, CA 94109-7807

Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone]

Attorneys for Defendant PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SAN FRANCISCO DIVISIONUNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,v.

PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY,

Defendant.

Case No. 14-CR-00175-WHA

RESPONSE TO NOTICE RE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

Judge: Hon. William Alsup Date: December 31, 2018

Defendant Pacific Gas & Electric Company ("PG&E") submits this response to the Court's Notice re California Wildfires dated November 27, 2018:

1.

What requirements of the judgment herein, including the requirement against further federal, state, or local crimes, might be implicated were any wildfire started by reckless operation or

1

RESPONSE TO NOTICE RE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

Case No.14-CR-00175-WHA

1

maintenance of PG&E power lines?

2

3

Response:

4

5

6

7

8

If it were determined that a wildfire had been started by reckless operation or maintenance of PG&E power lines, that would, if the specific circumstances gave rise to a violation of federal, state, or local statutes, implicate the requirements of Special Condition of Probation #1 of the judgment, which provides that while on probation, PG&E shall not commit another Federal, State, or local crime.

9

10

2.

11

What requirements of the judgment herein might be implicated be any inaccurate, slow, or failed reporting of information about any wildfire by PG&E?

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Response:a. If it were determined that PG&E had failed to meet reporting requirements related to wildfires, the particular reporting failure would have to be reviewed for violation of federal, state, or local statutes. If any such criminal statutes were violated, that would implicate the requirements of Special Condition of Probation #1 of the judgment, which provides that while on probation, PG&E shall not commit another Federal, State, or local crime.

19

b.

20

21

If it were determined that PG&E had failed to meet its reporting requirements to U.S. Probation in connection with wildfires, depending on the particular reporting failure, that would implicate the following requirements of the judgment:

22

23

• i. Condition of Probation #2, which requires PG&E to answer truthfully all inquiries by the probation officer and follow the instructions of the probation officer;

  24

  25

  26

• ii. Condition of Probation #5, which requires PG&E to notify the probation officer within seventy-two hours of any criminal prosecution, major civil litigation, or administrative proceeding against PG&E;

27

28

2

RESPONSE TO NOTICE RE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

Case No.14-CR-00175-WHA

1
2
3
4
5
6	3.	What specific steps has the monitor herein taken to monitor and improve PG&E safety and
7	reporting with respect to power lines and wildfires?
8
9	Response:
10	Following the January 2017 Judgement and Order in this matter, the Court appointed the
11	Honorable Mark Filip (Ret.) to serve as independent federal monitor over certain aspects of
12	PG&E's business. To meet the goals and the requirements of the Court's Order, in April of
13	2017 the Monitor and his team began reviewing and monitoring various areas, including:
14	(1) PG&E's safety culture, (2) PG&E's enterprise Compliance and Ethics program, and (3) the
15	specific requirements enumerated in paragraphs I.B.(1)-(15) of the Order. While much of this
16	work focuses on PG&E's natural gas operations, certain aspects include an enterprise-wide
17	evaluation, including aspects of safety, such as safety culture, risk management, and
18	compliance and ethics. To conduct this scope of work, the Monitor assembled a team of dozens
19	of lawyers and subject matter experts in varied areas such as integrity management, gas
20	transmission, utility operations, risk evaluation, compliance and ethics, and safety.
21
22	In November 2017, as a result of the October 2017 North Bay wildfires, the Monitor, the
23	United States Attorneys' Office and PG&E agreed that the Monitor team would also evaluate
24	certain aspects of PG&E's electric distribution operations, including reviewing the adequacy
25	of PG&E's: (1) vegetation management plan, (2) electric pole and equipment maintenance and
26	inspection programs, and (3) emergency response and restoration practices. Given the multiple
27	independent lawsuits related to the North Bay wildfires, as well as the ongoing regulatory
28
3
RESPONSE TO NOTICE RE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
	Case No.14-CR-00175-WHA

iii.

Special Condition of Probation #8, which requires PG&E to notify the probation officer immediately upon learning of the commencement of any major civil action, criminal prosecution, or administrative proceeding against PG&E, or any investigation or formal inquiry by governmental authorities regarding the organization.

1

2

3

4

review by various state and local agencies, the parties further agreed that that the Monitor team would not evaluate or opine on the cause of any of the North Bay fires. Consistent with this supplemental scope, the Monitor onboarded new members to his team, including additional attorneys and industry veterans with expertise in the relevant areas of electric operations.

5

6

7

The Monitor team has undertaken numerous activities focused on PG&E's electric operations, including:

8

9

• •Meeting with dozens of electric employees, ranging from the most senior leaders to field employees;

  10

  11

  12

  13

• •Conducting multiple field visits, including to inspection projects related to electric distribution poles and equipment, base camp established for response and restoration in wildfire affected areas, and PG&E's Emergency Operations Center and Wildfire Safety Operations Center;

  14

  15

  16

• •Participating in operational meetings and telephone calls, such as status calls on operational performance and risks related to electric distribution and PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoff program;

  17

  18

• •Receiving real-time emergency response and operational updates during and following the 2017 and 2018 wildfires; and

  19

  20

  21

  22

• •Receiving hundreds of files in response to data requests related to various aspects of electric operations, including: distribution maintenance programs, wildfire safety operations, pole and wire inspection and maintenance, vegetation clearance/management and emergency response.

23

24

25

26

More broadly, from the start of the monitorship, the Monitor team has been and remains engaged with PG&E on a wide range of areas, many of which relate to the company's overall safety and culture. For example, over approximately the last 20 months, the Monitor team has:

27

• •Attended hundreds of meetings at all levels of the company, ranging from Board of

28

4

RESPONSE TO NOTICE RE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

Case No.14-CR-00175-WHA

1	Directors and senior officer meetings to all-employee town halls, operational meetings
2	and field visits;
3	Periodically attended Board and Board Committee Meetings, including executive
		•
4	sessions with the Board;
5	Traveled throughout PG&E's service territory to attend field projects such as
		•
6	equipment testing and inspection work, and conduct interviews and meetings with over
7	200 employees;
8	Visited operational facilities including stations, natural gas storage fields, training
		•
9	facilities, crew yards, and service centers;
10	Conducted panel discussions with dozens of employees, focused primarily on
		•
11	compliance and ethics and safety culture;
12	Received thousands of files from PG&E (over 35 gigabytes of data) in response to
		•
13	requests for information;
14	Maintained regular communications with PG&E, including participating in standing
		•
15	weekly calls to discuss emerging issues and general updates; and
16	Established a Monitor Helpline for PG&E employees to raise concerns directly to the
		•
17	Monitor team, which PG&E has publicized among its workforce.
18

19	4.	Provide an accurate and complete statement of the role, if any, of PG&E in causing and
20	reporting the recent Camp Fire in Butte County and all other wildfires in California since the
21	judgment herein.
22
23	Response:
24	PG&E's response to Question 4 is structured in three parts, as follows:
25
	In part one, in response to the Court's request for information concerning PG&E's role in
26
	"reporting" wildfires, we provide an overview of the various ways in which PG&E has submitted
27
	information to its regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission ("CPUC"), as well as to the
28
5
RESPONSE TO NOTICE RE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
	Case No.14-CR-00175-WHA