PG&E's Bonus System

Almost missed this amazing article:

Under the system PG&E had in place until 2008, managers would receive incentive bonuses if they met several performance standards, said Steven Segale, one of the three employees whose complaints prompted the internal company audit. One standard was based on the number of leaks a supervisor's crew found per mile on a gas pipeline inspection - the fewer the leaks, the bigger the bonus, Segale said.

...Segale said managers had regularly pressured employees to downgrade leaks from the most serious, Grade 1, which have to be repaired immediately, to a lower-priority Grade 2 that could allow them to remain unrepaired for up to 18 months. He said everyone knew supervisors got incentive in the form of annual bonuses.

"They would say, 'You're killing me!' " said Segale, 52, of Fairfax, a gas-welding crew foreman and weld inspector for the company. "Or, 'My superintendent is going to take a piece out of my ass if I go over budget. Can't you make this a Grade 2 and not a Grade 1?' "

...Another whistle-blower, gas crew foreman Michael Scafani, said he had long complained to management in the North Bay that customers were finding most of the leaks instead of PG&E.

"Leaks are my issue," said Scafani, a 35-year veteran with the company. "I fix them. I see the close proximity to houses, where the gas has accumulated. I'm really amazed that more houses haven't blown up."