ENERGY

PUC Orders SoCal Gas to Reopen 12 Branch Offices: Ruling that the impact of the office closures in 1991 fell disproportionately on minority, elderly and poorer customers, the California Public Utilities Commission ordered the gas company to reopen offices in Alhambra, Banning, Bellflower, Corona, Covina, Dinuba, Fontana, Hanford, Lompoc, Monrovia, San Luis Obispo and Visalia. If a branch cannot be reopened at its former site, the commission ordered new offices at a convenient site. The closures had been contested by many of the communities themselves as well as the Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132, which represents many SoCal Gas workers. The offices must be reopened in 90 days.