Dive Summary:
- Former Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) IT manager Christopher Surbey claims the utility unfairly fired him after he refused to use information about the company's geographical mapping system to trick regulators into granting rate increases.
- Surbey, who was hired to clean up PG&E’s record system after the San Bruno blast, filed his suit Tuesday in San Francisco federal court. "PG&E was simply using the need for a geographic information systems (GIS) overhaul to request more money from (California Public Utilities Commission) with no intention of actually delivering an overhaul, instead spending the money elsewhere in a haphazard fashion," claims Surbey.
- PG&E said Surbey's claims are "inaccurate." Spokesman Greg Snapper said Surbey lost his job because of layoffs in late 2011, rather than retaliation. Surbey and about 200 people were laid off from the utility's then 1,800-member IT department.
From the article:
“Surbey says he was one of few PG&E's team leaders with experience on geographic information systems (GIS) when he came on board. He had been working in that field, including a stretch with South California Edison, for two decades. And for a time things went well with Surbey winning accolades for a successful GIS system update, the suit says.”