ENERGY

PUC Judge Blames Edison for Mohave Explosion: A proposed decision by an administrative law judge at the California Public Utilities Commission has faulted Southern California Edison for failing to take “reasonable steps” to maintain a steam pipe that broke in 1985 at the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nev. In the resulting explosion, 1,000-degree steam blasted through an employee lunch room and the plant’s control room, killing six workers and seriously injuring 10 more. Edison, which owns 56% of the plant, maintains that a faulty weld made by the pipe manufacturer is to blame. If made binding by the commission, the decision would mean that Edison must charge shareholders, not ratepayers, for any costs associated with the accident.