PG&E says shareholders, not customers, will bear cost of San Bruno blast penalties

SAN FRANCISCO — Officials at Pacific Gas & Electric say customers will not be paying the massive fines being sought by state regulators, but that PG&E's shareholders will bear that cost.

On Friday the utility said it thought the record $2.25 billion in fines being sought by state regulators is illegally excessive, but did not offer a specific dollar figure it considers reasonable.

In a 103-page filing submitted just before the close of business, PG&E said that it agrees with the California Public Utilities Commission's finding that a financial penalty is appropriate for the September 2010 explosion that killed eight people.

But with shareholders already paying $2.2 billion in system upgrades and other improvements in response to the blast, a spokesman on Saturday said that amount should be applied to any penalty.

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