Opinion

Michael Peevey wrong person to rule on PG&E case

California Public Utilities Commission president, Michael Peevey, at his San Francisco, Ca. office on Tuesday Jan, 25, 2011. California Public Utilities Commission president, Michael Peevey, at his San Francisco, Ca. office on Tuesday Jan, 25, 2011. Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Michael Peevey wrong person to rule on PG&E case 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Our first reaction to learning that state Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey had appointed himself the duty of deciding whether Pacific Gas and Electric Co. should be fined for the 2010 San Bruno disaster was: He can't be serious. It would be hard to think of a less suitable overseer than the man who presided over years of well-documented coziness between utility and regulator.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigation of the gas-pipeline explosion in which eight people died and 38 homes were destroyed was highly critical of the commission's oversight of PG&E during Peevey's tenure.

Peevey obviously does not see the inherent conflict in appointing himself as the arbiter of how much, if anything, the utility should be fined for a succession of violations of state and federal safety regulations in connection with San Bruno.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday to express her opposition to Peevey's self-appointment. She suggested that Commissioner Mike Florio - a consumer advocate who was not on the PUC in the years leading to the explosion - would be "the right choice" for the job. She urged the governor to intercede and replace Peevey with Florio.

"While I realize the full commission will vote on the final penalties to be assessed, I believe it is prudent to remove from the process an individual who was a key decision-maker during the time that CPUC failed to conduct proper oversight of PG&E," Speier said in the letter to Brown.

Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, had earlier written to Brown to "express outrage and indignation" at Peevey's action.

PG&E could face fines in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Peevey has put himself - and the commission - in a no-win situation. A light action against PG&E by Peevey would be widely viewed as the climax of what Hill called a "decade of mistrust" on his watch. If he were to decide on heavy fines, he might be subject to second-guessing about whether he was overcompensating in the face of criticism - or trying to deflect blame from the commission's sorry track record on safety enforcement.

Either way, he is the wrong person for the job. Brown should remove him.

And soon.

An even more fundamental question for the governor is why Michael Peevey remains president of a commission that was so lax in its oversight duty in the years leading up to the San Bruno disaster.