Energy

Blackouts Could Dog LA This Summer, Agencies Warn

April 19, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>LOS ANGELES (CN) - Energy agencies told the LA City Council on Tuesday that customers face up to 14 days of blackouts this summer in the aftermath of this year's massive methane gas leak - an assertion a consumer group calls misleading.</p> <p><br /> At a Tuesday morning council meeting, The California Independent System Operator director Tom Doughty and other energy officials outlined a plan to cope with potential blackouts in the wake of curtailed operations at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field.</p>

Driverless and Clueless: Consumer Watchdog Battles Google’s Driverless Cars

April 14, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>Consumer Watchdog are fighting Google's self-driving car plans, because computers are fickle and humans are dumb</b></p>

‘This is a threat. This is not a report.’ Critics Call Blackout Warnings A Scare Tactic To Keep Aliso Canyon Open

April 12, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>If energy agencies and utilities ever want to scare consumers, they need say little more than "blackouts."</p>

Blackout Warnings From Porter Ranch Gas Leak Are Scare Tactics, Say Advocacy Groups

April 12, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Local advocacy groups accused state regulators Tuesday of buying in to scare tactics after a report <a href="http://www.energy.ca.gov/2016_energypolicy/documents/2016-04-08_joint_agency_workshop/Aliso_Canyon_Action_Plan_to_Preserve_Gas_and_Electric_Reliability_for_the_Los_Angeles_Basin.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released last week</a> predicted 14 days of power outages and higher electricity rates in Southern California this summer if a San Fernando Valley natural gas storage facility remained offline.</p>

Air Regulators Weigh Return of Full Operations At Exxon Mobil’s Torrance Refinery

April 1, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>For a year, Los Angeles area motorists have seen their gasoline prices soar as high as $1.50 a gallon more than the rest of the nation following an explosion at Exxon Mobil's Torrance refinery that destroyed the plant's pollution control system and constrained California inventories.</p> <p>Angry neighbors called for a permanent shutdown of the facility after reports revealed that the February 2015 explosion, which triggered state and federal investigations, could have unleashed harmful chemicals into their community.</p>

Brown Adviser Investigated For Stock Nondisclosure

March 28, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The Fair Political Practices Commission opened an investigation into Nancy E. McFadden, a former senior vice president at Pacific Gas & Electric Co., after receiving a complaint that she advised Gov. Jerry Brown on energy-related legislation and appointments to regulatory boards in 2011 and 2012 while holding $1 million in energy-related stock.</p> <p>The commission said it would limit its inquiry to McFadden’s failure to disclosure the stock holdings on economic interest statements in lieu of a larger conflict-of-interest investigation, citing insufficient evidence.</p>

Governor’s Aide Is Focus Of Inquiry

March 26, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>State ethics panel is looking into whether Nancy McFadden failed to report the sale of stock in PG&E.</strong></p> <p>The state's ethics watchdog agency has opened an investigation into whether Nancy McFadden, a top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown, failed to properly report the sale of stock in Pacific Gas & Electric Co., where she worked before joining the administration, officials said Thursday.</p>

FPPC To Investigate Brown’s Top Aide

March 25, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SACRAMENTO — The state’s political watchdog commission will investigate whether a top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown failed to properly disclose her stock in her former employer Pacific Gas & Electric Co.</p>

California Ethics Body To Review Governor’s Top Aide Filing

March 25, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California's political watchdog said Thursday it is opening an investigation into whether a top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown properly disclosed her stock holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric Corp, but declined to launch an investigation into a more serious allegation that her holdings posed a conflict of interest.</p>

Top Jerry Brown Aide’s PG&E Stock Disclosure Investigated

March 24, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>California’s campaign finance watchdog will investigate whether a top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown accurately disclosed the status of her stock holdings in a major utility.</p>

Gasoline Price-Gouging Indications Grow Stronger

March 22, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>As corporate profit reports rolled in this winter from the gasoline refining industry, the case for gas price gouging grew steadily stronger.</p>

Jerry Brown Aide Had Interest In Siding With PG&E, Group Says

March 15, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SACRAMENTO — A consumer group has filed a complaint asserting that a top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown had a financial interest in helping her former employer Pacific Gas and Electric Co. lobby for friendly appointees to the California Public Utilities Commission and influencing legislation that would benefit the firm.</p>