We own a home in Carmel-by-the-Sea. PG&E is in the process of replacing most of the gas distribution piping there including the replacement of the service lines from the mains to the homes. They wanted to move our gas meter because it was under a kitchen window and unless we had been there to protest, they would have put it in a place that would have blocked fire egress (but it would not have been under a window). They managed to piss off half the neighborhood with their high-handed decision making, and their seeming inability to communicate with absentee homeowners. We had called both the city and PG&E in advance of this work, left contact info, and spoke with the people directly involved with the construction. We found a note under a rock on a pile of dirt in our yard asking us to call. They made a neighbor spend $5,000 to move their electrical service so that it was more than 3 ft from the meter. Both gas and electric services are from PG&E and the homes have been there since 1940, so you have to ask yourself, if all of these installations present a risk, where have they been all these years? A few blocks away, they managed to blow up a home by not managing the cutoff and reconnection of the gas to it. Luckily, no one was injured, but the roof of the house that blew up landed on the roof of the house next door. In speaking with the contractor, it is clear that all of this is in response to San Bruno.
On KSFO this morning, they were saying the gas pipes in San Bruno had not been inspected in over 50 years. That’s crazy!
Problem is, regulations have changed since the '40s, gotten tighter, more numerous. Like a private citizen doing a remodel, if they go in to add to or change the electrical system, they have to bring stuff up to the current code. In new hookups, PG&E has to go in and verify that the installation meets code before they can provide service. When PG&E has to do a distribution system rebuild, they then have to go around and turn all those customers back on individually. If they supply gas to a house, and reconnect their new service and don't make sure that the customer side is up to code and the house explodes, guess who is held responsible? If new regulations state that the electric service must be a certain number of feet away from the gas meter, it's not PG&E's responsibility to make the necessary code-driven changes on the customer side. In this nanny-state, litiginous environment, PG&E's only recourse would be to refuse to reconnect the customer rather than face the liability.
Congratulations.