TURN (The Utility Reform Network) is a
consumer advocacy organization headquartered in
San Francisco, California. In 1972, Sylvia Siegel started TURN in her kitchen to represent consumers before the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which she felt was overly focused on the interests of its regulated industries at the expense of consumers.
Harry Reasoner interviewed Siegel about her work with TURN on
CBS's
60 minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
in 1984.
On January 1, 2008, Mark Toney became the executive director of TURN. Toney is a
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
graduate, who later earned his Ph.D. in Sociology at
UC Berkeley. Toney also founded DARE (Direct Action for Rights and Equality) to organize low-income families in
Providence, Rhode Island in 1986.
California Governor
Jerry Brown appointed former TURN attorney Michael Florio to the California Public Utilities Commission in 2011.
Following the
San Bruno pipeline explosion
The San Bruno pipeline explosion occurred at 6:11 pm PDT on September 9, 2010, in San Bruno, California, when a diameter steel natural gas pipeline owned by Pacific Gas & Electric exploded into flames in the Crestmoor residential neighbor ...
, TURN filed a motion with the CPUC to "compel
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...
to respond to data requests seeking production of documents to determine if PG&E engaged in other efforts to undermine due process in this case."
References
External links
Historical information about TURN
Consumer organizations in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in California
Organizations based in San Francisco
1972 establishments in California
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