PG&E to pay $1.6 bln for the explosion of a gas pipe

​PG&E Corp. is to pay a fine of $1.6 bln for the explositon of the gas pipe in San-Francisco in 2010 by the decision of the committee for the issues of communal maintenance of California, Bloomberg reports.

The committee made the decision to impose a fine on the company at the meeting on Thursday.

It was one of the most disputable procedures, the analyst of Glenrock Associates LLC in New York, P. Patterson, said.

PG&E was warned that the previously imposed fine of $2.25 bln might lead the company to bankruptcy, the agency reports. From the moment of the accident the company has changed its CEO, frozen dividends and separated its gas business from working capacities.

The defective joint weld led to the break of the pipeline in September 2010. 8 people died, 38 buildings were ruined. 2,425 violations of the safety measures led to the accident.