PG&E; Wins Approval to Build Power Line

PG&E; Corp.’s Pacific Gas & Electric Co. utility won approval for its plan to build a controversial high-voltage transmission line south of San Francisco.

Pacific Gas & Electric can spend as much as $207 million to complete the 230-kilovolt line by mid-2006 under a plan unanimously approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco.

The transmission line will reduce the threat of blackouts in the city and allow the utility to shut a 75-year-old, natural-gas-fueled power plant nearby.

The line faced opposition from residents who feared health effects from electromagnetic fields. The PUC voted to investigate whether it needs to change its rules on how utilities deal with electromagnetic fields when they build transmission lines.

Shares of San Francisco-based PG&E; fell 28 cents to $28.59 on the NYSE.