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PG&E Could Pay Record Fine For 2010 Natural Gas Blast

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with record fines for PG&E.

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INSKEEP: Regulators have recommended that the utility company Pacific Gas and Electric - that's PG&E pay a $2.25 billion penalty for a natural gas explosion in San Bruno, California.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

That fire, blamed on poor maintenance on an aging pipeline, it killed eight people, injured dozens and destroyed 38 homes in the San Francisco suburb.

A report released yesterday by the commission said investigators found PG&E committed more than 100 violations, some of them going back decades.

INSKEEP: Now if approved, the fine would be by far the largest ever levied by the California Public Utilities Commission and PG&E would be breaking its own record, having paid $38 million for another natural gas explosion back in 2008. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.