SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today filed a formal response to the California Public Utilities Commission's Order to Show Cause on potential violations of the Commission's rules related to ex parte communications that the company self-reported on September 15, 2014.

The potential violations were discovered as part of an ongoing voluntary internal review of emails over nearly five years between company executives and Commission officials.  In its filing today, the company admitted the violations identified in the Order to Show Cause and acknowledged that it expects a penalty.

In a statement, the company said:  "There is no disagreement that the emails in question were inappropriate. As we've stated, we took immediate and definitive action, self-reported these violations, held individuals accountable, and are making significant changes designed to prevent this from happening again." In conjunction with voluntarily identifying and self-reporting the potential violations, PG&E took the following actions:

• Three officers will no longer be employed by the company.
• Appointed a new senior vice president of regulatory relations.
• Created the new role of chief regulatory compliance officer, whose mandate is to help oversee compliance with all requirements governing PG&E's interactions with the CPUC. The position reports to the CEO and to the Audit Committee of the PG&E Board of Directors. 
• Engaged former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior Ken Salazar, a partner in the WilmerHale law firm, as special counsel on regulatory compliance matters to assist in developing a best-in-class regulatory compliance model. Salazar has deep experience in regulatory and energy matters.
• Committed to creating updated and enhanced training for all employees who routinely interact with PG&E's regulators.

As requested, the company will appear before the Commission on October 7, 2014. PG&E's response to the CPUC Order to Show Cause can be read here.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)