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When a ruptured natural gas pipeline owned by Pacific Gas and Electric caused an explosion and fast moving fire last Thursday at least four people were killed and 58 homes destroyed. The death toll is expected to rise as bodies are recovered and identified. The pipeline ran underneath homes in San Bruno, a Northern California suburb. On Monday PG&E announced the creation of a $100 million fund that would be dispersed to victims of the explosion and to the city as it rebuilds the area. The company’s safety record and actions to prevent the explosion will be under intense scrutiny for the foreseeable future. The disaster is also attracting attention to PG&E’s lobbying efforts and campaign donations. The Center for Responsive Politics found that in the first half of 2010 PG&E Corp. reported spending $44 million dollars in lobbying efforts, 600% more than its total for all of 2009. PG&E spent a significant amount on the campaign for Proposition 16, which was ultimately rejected by voters in June. Prop. 16 would have made it difficult for counties to create their own utility companies. Following the explosion last week the Bay Citizen reported that in 2007 PG&E had identified the pipeline as being at high risk for failure, but it did not plan to repair it until 2013. While PG&E is making attempts to clean-up the tragic mess its caused, many are asking why the company chose to spend tens-of-millions of rate-payer dollars on a campaign to maintain a monopoly, instead of preventing the disaster.

GUEST: Dave Levinthal, Communications Director at the Center for Responsive Politics

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