Pacific Gas and Electric reaches $390k settlement in spying case
April 12, 2013 | By
Travis Mitchell
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) will pay $390,000 to settle a regulatory investigation into its 2012 smart meter "spying" scandal. The agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was reached earlier this month. CPUC had been investigating the actions of former PG&E employee William Devereaux, who was accused of monitoring anti-smart meter groups online between 2009 and 2010 using fabricated credentials. The CPUC issued an Order Instituting Investigation (OII) in April 2012, and it has only now been resolved. The $390,000 penalty will be paid into California's General Fund. The settlement also requires PG&E to revamp its social media education and training process and sponsor three third-party regulatory training sessions by 2015. The CPUC said the settlement was in line with what it found to be a violation of customer privacy and transparency. "I hope that this investigation has sent a strong message to PG&E and all other utilities regulated by the CPUC that we will not tolerate consumer abuses in any shape or form. We expect our utilities to treat their customers with respect and compassion and engage with their customers in a transparent, ethical, and productive manner," said CPUC Commissioner and lead investigator Mike Florio, in a statement. Smart meter opposition groups viewed Devereaux's actions as a means to disrupt smart meter installations and mislead activist groups. After the settlement came to light, PG&E denounced Devereaux's actions and put a renewed focus on its social media practices. "As soon as we found out about the activities...we were very cooperative," PG&E spokesperson Greg Snapper told FierceEnergy, in an interview shortly after the CPUC released its April 2012 report. "What it really came to was it stressed the need for more employee engagement around how to use social media in a professional setting." For more: © 2013 FierceMarkets. All rights reserved. http://www.fierceenergy.com |