PG&E seems to be above regulation.

And now apparently it is above the law.

The for-profit utility ignored stipulations that any document discovered that was relevant to the natural gas pipeline that killed eight and leveled a San Bruno neighborhood must be turned over immediately to federal investigators.

Instead, PG&E opted to spend two weeks after “discovering” the document quizzing its employees about its accuracy.

Keeping the document secret is a gross violation of the guidelines that PG&E agreed to follow in the National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

And this is no minor document, either.

The 1988 document is a handwritten form regarding a leak in a flawed seam weld on the same pipeline that exploded on Sept. 9. Remember, PG&E had previously empathically proclaimed - as well as produced records - that indicated the pipeline was seamless.

The document means PG&E apparently knew there was a poor seam weld on the line. Such a faulty weld is what led to the destruction of 38 homes and killed eight people.

Deliberately misleading investigators apparently is business as usual for PG&E after they blow up natural gas pipelines and kill customers.

Following the Christmas Eve 2008 explosion that killed a customer in his home, PG&E found that three workers - two supervisors and a foreman - essentially lied about the quality of pipeline that had previously been installed. PG&E fired the three, but then used the sworn statements of the trio as evidence for the federal investigation of the blast. In short, PG&E apparently knew they had used substandard pipe in the Rancho Cordova incident and then made what appears to be a deliberate move using sworn statements they knew to be wrong to mislead investigators.

PG&E, in the San Bruno investigation, ignored the agreement they made not to quiz witnesses without notifying the National Transportation Safety Board investigators.

While PG&E’s behavior may shock federal investigators, it is old hat to Californians who are at the mercy of the PG&E corporate culture.

PG&E is known to ask for rate increases and gets them granted to perform work that never gets done such as replacing power poles. They then file new rate increase to raise money to do the work they claimed they did previously but didn’t do.

It’s the same folks who pushed for deregulation saying it would lower prices and then turned around and set up a holding company to essentially sell PG&E to itself so they could re-depreciate assets and charge more money for power.

 It is the same for-profit concern that spent close to $40 million in an unsuccessful attempt to get voters to amend the California constitution a year ago June so they could assure themsleves of a monopoly.

PG&E is the same firm that hired a consultant that used a wireless computer to hack into South San Joaquin Irrigation District files to steal documents critical to SSJID’s retail plans. They then had the audacity to call them “public records that anybody could access.” PG&E ended up reimbursing SSJID for all of their legal expenses while insisting that they were admitting no culpability.

So why should anybody be surprised they essentially play games with federal investigators?

If you were Barry Bonds and lied to the government they’d persecute you. But if you’re PG&E the feds will just make all sorts of noises and then let you go scot free.