Councilman Mitchell Englander announced Tuesday that he plans to submit a resolution to the Los Angeles City Council calling for the California Public Utilities Commission, which is already probing the Porter Ranch gas leak, to investigate the rate increases experienced by Southern California Gas Co. customers.
He said in a statement that elected officials across Los Angeles recently have received many calls from constituents over “abnormally high bills” from the Gas Company.
“This bill-spiking comes at a time when SoCalGas is experiencing a major disaster at its Aliso Canyon facility,” Englander said. “I am simply not buying that these two incidents are not related. It appears that the entire Los Angeles basin is now feeling the effects of the Aliso Canyon Gas Leak.”
Englander noted that the Southern California Gas Co. has said the Los Angeles area has been experiencing its coldest winter in five years.
Earlier today, Brad Sherman, a Democratic congressman who has a home in Porter Ranch close to the site of the Southern California Gas Co. gas leak, announced today that he plans to introduce legislation designed to prevent more leaks in the future.
Sherman noted in a statement that the Department of Transportation Materials Safety Administration has established federal safety regulations for natural gas transportation.
“However, PHMSA has yet to use its existing regulatory authority regarding natural gas storage,” he said, adding that the legislation he plans to introduce, the Natural Gas Storage Safety Act, would direct the PHMSA to implement safety standards for natural gas storage facilities.
“This bill is a backstop,” Sherman said. “If PHMSA doesn’t adopt regulations using its existing authority, this bill would compel them to act.”
—City News Service