Environmental Justice

In order to be responsive to our customers and communities, we must first understand their concerns and they must understand our intentions. Producing, transporting and distributing natural gas and electricity to more than 15 million people over 70,000 square miles requires power plants, thousands of miles of pipelines and transmission and distribution wires, thousands of vehicles and other equipment necessary to maintain this infrastructure and deliver this service.

The facilities used to serve our customers are often close to population centers to ensure reliable power and efficient service. Our goal is to balance the need to maintain and enhance these facilities for customers with the responsibility to understand and respect the needs of our neighbors. Our efforts to strike this balance are guided by a formal environmental justice policy and program. This policy and program requires that we seek meaningful involvement from stakeholders, train and educate employees on environmental justice and related issues, and focus on managing facilities in an environmentally responsible manner, in compliance with all laws and regulations, and in a way that minimizes impacts on adjacent communities.

PG&E's pledge to corporate responsibility includes a continuous effort to work more effectively with our customers and communities and to make a positive difference.

Examples of our environmental justice policy in action during 2006 included the following:

The closure of PG&E's Hunters Point Power Plant after years of collaborative work with the local community. PG&E invested more than $300 million to complete nine transmission projects to facilitate closure of the plant. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) determined that these transmission upgrades were necessary to ensure electric reliability for our customers in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. Once the CAISO determined that the plant was no longer necessary to maintain electric reliability, it ceased operation. PG&E voluntarily committed that it would demolish the plant and remediate the site to meet standards for residential use, becoming one of the first utility companies in the country to make such a commitment.

As part of our continued commitment to the local community, PG&E and its prime contractor, TRC Solutions, are hiring local residents and providing them the necessary training to dismantle the facility. In addition, PG&E joined San Francisco's CityBuild program, a workforce training initiative designed to provide construction-related job training and employment to city residents. As of the end of 2006, 47 percent of PG&E's contractor dismantlement team were graduates of CityBuild and lived in the neighborhoods surrounding the plant. In addition, 30 percent of the contract value, approximately $7 million, will be spent with diverse suppliers, and seven of the subcontractors on the dismantlement team are local companies.

Finally, this work is being augmented by a community outreach effort, spearheaded by a Project Advisory Committee that includes approximately 30 neighborhood and community leaders and meets monthly with the project team to obtain first hand information and discuss issues of importance to the community.