Utilities Sector

List: Why We Should Believe that PG&E Won't Kill Us All

SF's Drinking Water May Be Unsafe for Those with HIV/AIDS

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 >>

Supes Want to Rescind Law that Bans Competition in SF Trash Collection

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 >>

Public Power Program Likely to Cover Fewer Customers at Outset

​Community Choice Aggregation Could be Offered to Just One-Tenth of CityWe've reported in the past on the intractable problems -- both in design and execution -- of CleanPowerSF, San Francisco's ambitious plan to shift the city to a more eco-friendly power supply. The program, as initially conceiv ... 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 >>

Castro merchants say PG&E mishandled gas leak

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

PG&E Will Reveal Pipeline Locations -- Sort Of

KTVT/KTXALook! There's one! ​In the wake of the San Bruno disaster, a number of environmental and First Amendment types have demanded PG&E disclose the routes of its riskiest gas pipes. The utility provider has declined, however, citing the risk that terrorists could capitalize on that sort of ... 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 Francisco's Clean Power Program Collapses, Starts Over

Electricity never strikes out twice in one place... we hope.​After spending months attempting and failing to negotiate the terms of a new program to provide clean, relatively cheap power to the local citizenry, San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission earlier this month began the process anew w ... 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 >>

After Prop. 16 Defeat, Public Power Advocates Still Can't Promise Cheaper Rates

Still no price tag attached​The weeks leading up to Tuesday's election saw no shortage of hand-wringing among public-power advocates. With passage of PG&E-backed Proposition 16 -- which would have required a two-thirds popular vote before municipal governments could get into the electricity bu ... More >>

Power Surge: Program could raise your electric bills

Still no price tag attached​The weeks leading up to Tuesday's election saw no shortage of hand-wringing among public-power advocates. With passage of PG&E-backed Proposition 16 -- which would have required a two-thirds popular vote before municipal governments could get into the electricity bu ... 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 >>

Report: Plan to Sell off State Buildings Will Cost Taxpayers Billions

But there are many bad ideas to go 'round...​Investigation reveals plan to patch budget shortfall by selling California buildings includes hidden deal-sweeteners that gouge taxpayersIn March we reported that the state of California fired a San Francisco official who protested a plan to raise money ... More >>

Distressed Properties

The state's quick budget fix of selling off public buildings is a horrible idea.

Green-Energy Agency's Response to Critical Grand Jury Report: Screw You Guys, We're Goin' Home.

Marin County's civil grand jury caused an uproar in the ranks of Bay Area eco-activists earlier this month when it released a scathing report on a proposed overhaul of the county's energy policy. The grand jury's panning of Marin Clean Energy, a plan to provide many areas of the county with governme ... More >>

Calling All Altruists: District 5 Cleanup on Saturday. As Always, If You Get Trashed, You Can't Pick Up Trash.

Clean up all the garbage areas in District 5 -- no, clean them all up!​If you've ever had a hankering to clean feces off the mayor's doorstep, then, boy, have we got a deal for you! In yet another test of one's altruism -- or stamina -- the Department of Public Works is tossing us a dilemma: Get t ... More >>

SF Gov InAction: Meet the Guardian's Imaginary Friend and Congratulate the Department of Technology on Its Fictitous $750,000 Tech Center

When your whole government shuts down so that it can go to Washington D.C. and lobby for handouts, you know you've reached a point of no return. Economically it's a sign of total defeat, an acknowledgment that we are a zombie municipality that needs fresh infusions of federal blood just to go thr ... More >>

PG&E Steals SF Activists' Thunder -- Make That Sunlight -- With New Solar Power Plan

David BlaikieMore attractive than ever.San Francisco-based utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced yesterday that it will be undertaking a $1.5 billion project to produce more solar energy for its customers throughout the state. The initiative, which includes plans to build new solar-power ... More >>

Dumping Improper Crap in an Outhouse Is a Federal Offense. Burning 21 of Them Is Not

Certainly it's caught your eye -- the ubiquitous notice in most outhouses that "dumping hazardous materials" down the loo is a federal offense. When juxtaposed with the interior of a porta-john, the verb "dumping" and the notion of "hazardous materials" have definitely inspired their share of laughs ... More >>

"You Go Down to Moscone Convention Facilities. It's Compostable." And Other Gavin Newsom Environmental Insights from the State of the City Address

Does Gavin Newsom turn into Stalin when the moon is full? By Benjamin Wachs (This is State of the Citysode III: The Environment. Click here for Part II: Education, and Part 1: Health Care) 00:00 - Gavin begins philosophically. "I like to say that the world's consumption is the sum of all loc ... More >>

SFPD Catches "Water Department Scammers"

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

The Prop. H Campaign's Big Lie

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

Most "Censored" Story in S.F. History: If It's Been Censored, Why do We All Know About it?

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

SF Gov InAction: Supes Divide the City Amongst Themselves, have Big Plans for 19th Avenue, Try to Ban Smoking in Small Steps

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

Fortunate Sun

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

Why is the Guardian Shilling for PG&E?

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

Shoot 'Em If You Got 'Em: Lake Merced Gun Club In Crosshairs

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

Supervisors play "You cut WHAT?" with the Mayor while city code gets tighter, and tighter. It's ...

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

SF Drinking Water Now Without Hormones

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

Muni: The Christine of Public Transportation?

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

Ex-Utility Head Says She is Rubber, Newsom Glue

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

Junkyard Symphony

The San Francisco Police have arrested three suspects who have been posing as Water Department Personal to gain access to private homes. Once inside the home, one of the suspects would distract the resident while another searched the home for valuables. The three men are suspected of carrying out ... More >>

Letters to the Editor

Week of 3-28-2007

Powerful Advice

Leaders should ignore the temptation to over-regulate energy policy and let competition reign

Oh, Shit

Is the San Francisco sewer system in dire need of repair, or is this just another way to get taxpayers' money? Find out where you stand!

A Load of Crap

Is a new program to produce energy from dog poop a scientific breakthrough or just another zany idea out of San Francisco? Take our quiz and find out!

Lee Way

The public career path of Andrew Lee explains a lot about what's wrong with Willie Brown's style of politics and governance

Unbusy Signal

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

Letters to the Editor

Power Point;The Chronicle Chronicles;Outlawing Landlords and Other Amusements

Power Politics

Two major S.F. energy projects are in the works. Do we need both? The question isn't really being discussed.

Letters to the Editor

Letters from October 4, 2000

When Do Losers Win?

When Willie Brown is mayor, and one of their limiteds is Angelo Tsakopoulos

Midway to Nowhere

The residents of Daly City's Midway Village wonder if their environmental concerns will ever be addressed

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

Foul Ball

The Giants' new stadium site is almost certainly seeping a stew of toxic chemicals into the bay. Why doesn't the government care?