US | PG&E PG&E Got $5M to Fix Pipe, But Never Did This year, it asked for another $5M By John Johnson Posted Sep 15, 2010 7:38 PM CDT Copied An official walks past a charred car in a neighborhood damaged by a gas explosion in San Bruno, Calif., Friday, Sept. 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, Pool) No solace here for the 40 or so San Francisco-area families who lost their homes in last week's gas line explosion: PG&E got permission three years ago to spend $5 million of ratepayers' money—and to factor that cost into rate prices—to fix a portion of the pipe. The work never got done. In fact, the utility asked for another $5 million this year for the same repairs, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. "If they'd fixed the section they said they said they were going to fix, maybe they would have found something a few miles south—we don't know," says an attorney for a watchdog group that released the utility documents. Critics say PG&E has a long history of using maintenance money for other purposes. The massive explosion killed at least four people. Earlier coverage here. Read These Next Iran's supreme leader makes first public comments since ceasefire. Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. Man accused of killing his daughters might be dead. Report an error