California Public Utilities Commission

State Cracks Down on Ridesharing Services Again Over Questionable Policies

Over the last few months, San Francisco car-hire start-ups have been giddily plowing into new markets and introducing a raft of new services. Facing stiffer competition from SideCar and Lyft, Uber unveiled its own ride-share service, UberX in April. "We're seeing a ... policy of non-enforcement in ... More >>

PG&E "Green Option," a Competitor for CleanPowerSF, Discloses its Terms

PG&E "Green Option" expected to cost far less than tentative CleanPowerSF ratesIn the current edition of SF Weekly, we explore the long-term goal of CleanPowerSF to provide San Francisco with "a local build-out which would supply the city with vast quantities of renewable power, energy independe ... More >>

Power Play: San Francisco's Plan for Clean, Local Energy Lacks One Detail: Everything.

Chopped Livery: Start-Ups Revolutionize the Cab Industry

PG&E Tries to Explain Vague "Lost Its Way" Comment

PG&E, the company that evokes nightmarish images of Satan's lair for many San Franciscans after sparking the fire that killed eight and burned 38 homes, recently launched a $10 million multimedia advertising campaign to subtly quell the storm of Bay Area citizens. In the company's most recent tel ... More >>

Muni: Our Transit Agency Has Neglected Maintenance for Years

Who Hates Smart Meters? Glen Park Residents

It's been a while since we've seen any good sparring over the contentious so-called smart meter, but apparently strong sentiments are circulating in parts of the city. A kind and anonymous reader passed along this photo that's being posted around homes in Noe Valley and Glen Park neighborhoods, wher ... More >>

Muni Operator Busted Texting While Driving Bus

Crashes, doors flying open, drivers texting ... what's next?​Just the other day Muni made headlines after a train door randomly opened while the light rail flew through the Metro Tunnel. Already dubious about Muni safety, riders are now learning about a bus operator who was busted texting while be ... More >>

Muni: Where Is the Money Going?

Next stop: Central Subway ​Anyone who relies on Muni to get around town is already intimately familiar with its drawbacks -- late trains and questionable mechanics. And then there's scary factor -- stabbings, robberies, and crashing buses -- we're not being melodramatic. So we ask: How much is the ... More >>

Smart Meter Protest in SF Thursday

A December 2010 protest against SmartMeter installation in West Marin Despite its status as a tech hub where virtually every square inch of land is within range of a wireless Internet signal, San Francisco has proved hospitable over the years to people with all manner of fears about radiation from g ... More >>

Jackie Speier Blasts PG&E for Sloppy Record-Keeping

This is what happens when you are disorganized​Congresswoman Jackie Speier tells the Chronicle this morning that she is "appalled" by the fact that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. leaders "don't know what's underground." This became transparent after the company admitted it can't find important docum ... More >>

SmartMeter Protesters Block PG&E Trucks in Marin; 2 Arrested (PICS, VIDEO)

​Around 30 members of the group West Marin Citizens Against Smart Meters yesterday blockaded the only route into the remote village of Inverness, turning back trucks they claim were en route to install SmartMeters. Two of the protesters, Katharina Sandizell-Smith and June DiMorente, were arrested ... More >>

To Where, Exactly, Will PG&E Move Deadly Gas Main?

Not in my backyard​Pacific Gas & Electric Company's announcement Friday that it will  not rebuild the gas main in San Bruno's Crestmoor neighborhood -- where 37 homes were leveled and eight people killed when the 30-inch transmission pipe exploded on Sept. 9 -- was welcome news to the are ... More >>

Investors From Mumbai, Houston, L.A., Behind $2.33B purchase of State Buildings

Meet the new landlord​The California Public Utilities Commission's San Francisco headquarters is among 11 state buildings that will soon be owned by a consortium made up of investment groups hailing from Houston, Los Angeles and Mumbai, the state Department of General Services Reported today.The b ... More >>

PG&E's '100 Riskiest Pipelines' List Could Be Released Today

WiggsWill your neighborhood make the list? ​What's worse than not knowing if you're living atop a high-risk PG&E pipeline? Knowing you are. After Friday's entreaty by the California Public Utilities Commission that PG&E provide a list of the specific locations of its 100 riskiest subterran ... More >>

PG&E Disseminates List of 100 Riskiest Pipelines

Is this pipe on the list too? ​List is released. See jump for more. PG&E President Chris Johns told the media today a list of his agency's 100 pipes most likely to explode and ruin your day will be disseminated later today. In the meantime, he says, customers can call (888) 743-7431, and disco ... More >>

San Bruno Fire: PG&E Twice Billed Ratepayers to Replace Pipe Near Blast, Never Did Work

WiggsWas this disaster really necessary? ​According to documents released by the San Francisco consumer watchdog The Utility Reform Network (TURN), PG&E received $5 million to replace a "high risk" section of piping not far from last week's San Bruno blast zone -- but didn't do the job as sche ... More >>

San Bruno Fire's Death Toll Mounts

Wiggs​As smoke rises from the devastated chunk of San Bruno, the death toll stands at four, with four more residents still unaccounted for. The dead are also now more than mere statistics -- there's student Jessica Morales. And, in a grim coincidence, one of the victims was Jacqueline Greig -- A C ... More >>

PG&E Ripped for Slow Response in Fatal 2008 Natural Gas Explosion

WiggsLet the blame game commence for the fatal explosion and fire in San Bruno​In the wake of the terrifying explosion and fire that incinerated a large swath of San Bruno, the key questions may yet be: "What did PG&E know and when did they know it?" In the weeks preceding the detonation of a ... More >>

City Attorney Tries To Save City From Invasion of Incredibly Dumb 'SmartMeters'

Running interference with your electricity bill...​City Attorney Dennis Herrera petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission today to stop PG&E's invasion of "SmartMeters," the electricity meters that purport to calculate your energy intake and wirelessly transmit it to the company th ... More >>

PG&E's New Definition of 'A Few' Faulty SmartMeters: 43,000

'A few' problems found with this SmartMeter and its bretheren​After earlier insisting that only "a few" of its SmartMeter customers were incorrectly billed, PG&E has now been forced to admit it has no idea what the total is -- but tens of thousands were installed improperly and even more were ... More >>

City Attorney Wants PG&E Muzzled On Government-Run Clean Energy Plan

City Attorney Dennis Herrera is asking state energy regulators to shut PG&E up when it comes to a controversial overhaul of San Francisco's power system that proponents say would provide greener electricity.A city brochure for CleanPowerSF​In a petition filed today with the California Public U ... More >>

S.F. State Senator Plans to Close the Book on White Pages

http://livegreentwincities.comYou can still find 'Sarah Connor' on the Internet without wasting energy and resources to print out the White Pages...​Fans of classic cinema may recall the seminal scene in The Jerk in which Navin Johnson rejoices at the delivery of the White Pages -- "Millions of pe ... More >>

Transgender Activists Staying Home From Obama Protests, But Waiting for President to Back Up Trans-Friendly Words

Code Pink on the left! Teabaggers on the right! Apparently, however, the transgender community still has President Obama's back.​While Michelle Obama marked an earlier San Francisco visit by getting her hands dirty volunteering at a Bayview playground, the O will be skipping a ... More >>

Green Scheme

The city's master plan for cleaner energy is fraught with risk. And, like it or not, you're already signed up.

Q&A: Victoria Kolakowski

Muni: The Christine of Public Transportation?

Green Like Me

Looking Inside INdTV

Al Gore and ex-Stanford prof Joel Hyatt say their S.F.-based cable news channel for twentysomethings won't be ideological. But do the Democratic moneymen behind the venture know that?

Letters to the Editor

Week of September 17, 2003

Letters to the Editor

Week of August 20, 2003

Death, Maiming, Money, and Muni

The enormous costs -- human and financial -- of bad drivers and lax discipline at the San Francisco Municipal Railway

Unbusy Signal

How long does it take Pac Bell to install a phone? Let us count the days.

Dead Mud Walking

A ballot measure that would create a Municipal Utility District has so many legal flaws, it's all but DOA. In fact, passing the measure might delay the advent of public power here for years.

Et Tu, Mom?

A new theme is already beginning to take shape this young campaign season: politicians betraying their heirs

Delusions of Power

Is it smart to jump into the Bay Guardian's version of public power, without even studying whether it will save money?

Letters to the Editor

Letters from January 10, 2001

Is This Any Way to Run A Railroad?

Union Pacific's tenacious fight to gut safety laws passed when a derailment sterilized 40 miles of the upper Sacramento River

Great Moments in the Bay Area Feel Good/Feel Better History