Judge asked to lower potential fine after pipeline blast

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal prosecutors asked a judge Tuesday to cut nearly all of a potential $562 million fine against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in a criminal case alleging the utility violated pipeline safety regulations before a deadly natural gas explosion and obstructed investigators looking into the blast in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The blast of a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas pipeline six years ago sent a giant plume of fire into the air, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes in the city of San Bruno.

PG&E also was charged with violating pipeline safety laws by ignoring shoddy record-keeping and failing to identify threats to its larger natural gas pipelines.