Judge delays PG&E’s criminal trial for 2010 San Bruno blast

A federal judge on Thursday postponed next week’s scheduled trial of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on criminal charges of violating pipeline safety laws, a delay sought by PG&E to review stacks of evidence newly supplied by prosecutors.

Attorney Kate Dyer said the company’s legal team would need seven weeks to properly assess the evidence because it is voluminous and “cuts to the heart of PG&E’s defense.”

The prosecution stems from investigations of the September 2010 explosion and fire at a PG&E gas pipeline in San Bruno, which killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.

PG&E was charged in 2014 with 12 violations of federal laws that require operators of gas pipelines to maintain accurate records, identify risks to lines and inspect or test when pipe pressures exceed the legal maximum.

For the company, a criminal conviction could be significant because of the stigma it carries, financial penalties that can be imposed without proof of additional harm caused, and the authority of the sentencing judge to require government monitoring or managerial changes.