8-K

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report: September 15, 2014

(Date of earliest event reported)

Commission File Number	Exact Name of Registrant as specified in its charter	State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization	IRS Employer Identification Number
1-12609	PG&E CORPORATION	California	94-3234914
1-2348	PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY	California	94-0742640

77 Beale Street P.O. Box 770000 San Francisco, California 94177  (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) (415) 973-1000 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)	77 Beale Street P.O. Box 770000 San Francisco, California 94177 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) (415) 973-7000 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting Material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 8.01 - Other Events

On September 15, 2014, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, (“Utility”), notified the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) and the CPUC administrative law judge who is overseeing the Utility’s 2015 Gas Transmission and Storage (“GT&S”) rate case that the Utility believes that certain communications between the Utility and CPUC personnel violated the CPUC’s rules prohibiting ex parte communications.  The Utility discovered the communications as part of an internal review of communications between the Utility and the CPUC. The Utility’s review is not complete and the Utility will inform the CPUC if additional potential violations of the rules prohibiting ex parte communications are identified.

The internal review was undertaken after the City of San Bruno (“San Bruno”) filed a motion at the CPUC in late July 2014 alleging that various email communications between the Utility’s employees and CPUC personnel violated the ex parte communication rules with respect to the pending CPUC investigative enforcement proceedings against the Utility.  The Utility believes that the communications cited by San Bruno are not prohibited ex parte communications.  The CPUC has not yet addressed San Bruno’s motion and its request that the CPUC penalize the Utility.

If the CPUC determines that the Utility violated the ex parte communication rules with respect to the GT&S rate case, the Utility may be required to pay fines or implement remedial measures, which could have a material financial effect and further harm PG&E Corporation’s and the Utility’s reputation.  In addition, the resolution of the GT&S rate case could be delayed or the outcome of the case could be negatively affected.  It is also uncertain whether the ex parte communication issues will affect other ongoing legal and regulatory matters, including the enforcement actions pending against the Utility.  Further, other proceedings, investigations, or legal actions could be commenced with respect to these issues which would cause additional reputational harm and could result in the imposition of additional penalties on the Utility.  (See “Risk Factors” in PG&E Corporation’s and the Utility’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31 and June 30, 2014.)    

As described in the attached press release, the Utility has taken several steps to strengthen its regulatory compliance: three officers in the Utility’s regulatory affairs department will no longer be employed by the Utility, a new Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs has been appointed, a new position of Chief Regulatory Compliance Officer (who will report to the Chief Executive Officer of PG&E Corporation and to the Audit Committee of the Utility’s Board of Directors) is being created, a special counsel has been engaged to assist the Utility in developing a best-in-class regulatory compliance model, and the Utility plans to implement additional mandatory training requirements for employees who regularly interact with the CPUC.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

Exhibits

Exhibit 99 Press release dated September 15, 2014

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrants have duly caused this report to be signed on their behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	PG&E CORPORATION
Dated: September 15, 2014	By:	LINDA Y.H. CHENG
		LINDA Y.H. CHENG  Vice President, Corporate Governance and  Corporate Secretary

	PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY
Dated: September 15, 2014	By:	LINDA Y.H. CHENG
		LINDA Y.H. CHENG  Vice President, Corporate Governance and  Corporate Secretary

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Exhibit Index

Exhibit 99 Press release dated September 15, 2014

EX-99

	Exhibit 99
Corporate Relations  |  77 Beale Street  |  San Francisco, CA  94105  |  415.973.5930 | www.pge.com
		September 15, 2014

PG&E TAKES ACTION TO ADDRESS EX PARTE COMMUNICATION ISSUES IDENTIFIED IN SELF-REPORT TO CPUC TODAY;

PLEDGES ‘NO EXCUSES’ COMPLIANCE

San Francisco, Calif. — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today notified the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that an extensive internal review of nearly five years of emails between the company and officials at the Commission has identified a number of instances in which PG&E believes it violated the CPUC’s rules governing communications with the state regulator in the pending Gas Transmission & Storage rate case. 

The communications reported to the CPUC today occurred over a three-week period in January, 2014, during which time a number of e-mails were sent to the CPUC concerning the assignment of administrative law judges and commissioners to the Gas Transmission & Storage rate case.  These e-mails may have violated CPUC rules prohibiting certain ex parte communications -- meaning communication with decision-makers that takes place without the knowledge of all parties to a proceeding.  

These communications were identified after the company voluntarily chose to broaden its internal review of any potential ex parte communications well beyond those communications referenced in a San Bruno motion filed last July. The expanded review included more than 65,000 emails to and from the Commission since early 2010.

Actions to Address

“As a company, we must be committed to complying with both the letter and the spirit of the law and PG&E’s own Code of Conduct at all times. No excuses. That is, and must be, the standard for our behavior individually and as a company,” Chairman and CEO Tony Earley and President Chris Johns said in a joint letter to employees today.

They outlined actions resulting from the internal review process:

·   Three officers will no longer be employed by the company. They are the senior vice president of regulatory affairs, vice president of regulatory relations, and vice president of regulatory proceedings and rates.

·   PG&E has appointed Steve Malnight as senior vice president of regulatory relations. Previously, Malnight was vice president of customer energy solutions. Malnight will report to PG&E President Chris Johns.

·   The company is creating the new role of chief regulatory compliance officer, whose mandate will be to help oversee compliance with all requirements governing PG&E’s interactions with the CPUC. The position will report to Chairman and CEO Tony Earley and to the Audit Committee of the PG&E Board of Directors.

·   The company has engaged Ken Salazar, a partner in the WilmerHale law firm, as special counsel on regulatory compliance matters to assist in developing a best-in-class regulatory compliance model. Salazar has deep experience in regulatory and energy matters. Among his roles has been service as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Senator from Colorado, Attorney General of Colorado and Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

·   PG&E plans additional, mandatory training for all employees who routinely interact with PG&E’s regulators.

Letter to Employees

In their joint letter announcing these actions to employees, Earley and Johns said, in part:

“As a company, we must be committed to complying with both the letter and the spirit of the law and PG&E’s own Code of Conduct at all times. No excuses. That is, and must be, the standard for our behavior individually and as a company.

“We all have a responsibility to know, understand and comply with all of the rules, including PG&E’s own Code of Conduct, as they apply to our respective roles.

“In these instances, there was behavior that clearly failed to meet that standard, and we greatly regret that. Even absent an ex parte violation, these actions did not represent the company in the manner we expect of our officers. As a result, we took immediate and definitive action. We’re continuing this review and will take additional actions if warranted. 

“Beyond that, it is also clear that we need to take additional steps to raise the level of professionalism and propriety in our interactions with regulators. While many of us have felt that criticism characterizing PG&E’s relationship with the CPUC as ‘cozy’ has been unfair, we need to acknowledge that we have earned some of the criticism and we need to take action to change that.

“As we have said previously, we have been very disappointed by the tone of some emails that have been reviewed. While not violations of regulations, they are unprofessional and unacceptable.

“We’ve made truly incredible progress in terms of our operational focus and in creating a strong safety culture at PG&E. But to be successful, it’s also critical that our culture demonstrates an unfailing commitment to conducting our business in compliance with both the letter and spirit of the law and our Code of Conduct and with a high degree of professionalism.”

PG&E’s filing with the CPUC can be read here.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.