SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has deployed a team of 95
employees from its Gas Operations organization as part of a mutual-aid
effort to support the construction and gas restoration work to help
support Columbia Gas and Massachusetts customers.
A team of 95 PG&E employees from across the 70,000 square-mile Northern
and Central California service area arrived in Massachusetts on Sunday,
Oct. 7. They will join the extensive restoration work to help
reestablish safe and reliable gas service back to customers. The
deployment is expected to last through mid-November.
“Our PG&E Gas Operations crews work hard every day to support the safe
and reliable delivery of clean and affordable natural gas to millions of
customers throughout Northern and Central California. We know how
critical natural gas service is to customers and communities, and we’re
proud to be part of this important restoration and safety work,” said
Geisha Williams, PG&E Corporation CEO and President.
The effort is being coordinated by NiSource, the parent company of
Columbia Gas, and includes teams from other energy companies in addition
to PG&E.
“Over the last eight years, our Gas Operations organization has worked
aggressively to modernize and improve all aspects of our extensive
pipeline system. We began by benchmarking against the very best in the
nation and incorporating best practices that support our robust safety
culture. Our crews from Northern and Central California work to ensure
the safety and integrity of our system, and they’ll carry those
priorities with them as they work to restore service to those
Massachusetts customers,” said Jesus Soto, PG&E Gas Operations Senior
Vice President.
A series of explosions and fires on Sept. 13 affected approximately
9,000 Columbia Gas customers. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts has said it
plans to restore gas service by installing new pipes and inspecting
connections within homes and businesses for about 8,600 customers by
Nov. 19, with about 3,000 workers including its employees, contractors
and gas crews from other companies such as PG&E.
The mutual aid approach of supporting customers of other energy
companies during emergencies and after natural disasters is a hallmark
of the gas and electric industries. In 2017, PG&E electric crews spent
weeks in Florida after Hurricane Irma, and the company sent an Incident
Command Team to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Earlier this year,
more than 100 personnel from nine utilities provided assistance to PG&E
and its customers after the devastating Carr and Mendocino Complex fires.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas
and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San
Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of
the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and
Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/
and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.
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Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Media Relations, 415-973-5930
Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company