PG&E Becomes First Natural Gas Utility to Receive Process Safety Certification

08/18/2016

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has successfully passed a comprehensive gas safety audit and has been certified to the chemical industry’s RC14001^® management system standard. The audit reviewed numerous end-to-end safety processes at the company, ultimately approving PG&E as the first utility to secure the certification.

“Safety is at the heart of everything we do at PG&E and this certification speaks directly to the work we are doing every day to ensure the safety of our customers, the public and our employees. To be the first utility in the world to receive this certification is an incredible accomplishment and reinforces our commitment to be the safest and most reliable gas company in the country,” said Nick Stavropoulos, president, PG&E Gas.

RC14001 was developed as a standard issued through the American Chemistry Council for process safety; community communications; product safety; occupational safety, health, environmental and security practices against which it can be evaluated and certified by a third party. The standard embodies the industry’s Responsible Care^® Guiding Principles. PG&E adopted this standard to build upon its comprehensive safety management program.

“Achieving RC14001 certification demonstrates that a company’s environmental, health, safety and security operations are a real, day-to-day functioning part of their business,” said ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley. “As the first utility to meet the requirements of this management system standard, PG&E is a model for other utilities that seek to demonstrate their commitment to and investment in a culture of safety.”

Examples of PG&E initiatives reviewed during the audit include:

The Corrective Action Program, a program that empowers employees at all levels of PG&E to speak up and identify issues that are in need of improvement;
The Tactical Analysis Mapping Integration Tool, providing real-time geospatial information with field activities, enhancing PG&E’s ability to safely and reliably serve its customers;
The Enterprise and Operational Risk Management Process, PG&E’s comprehensive risk management process;
Records information management policy, strategy and guidance.

The third-party audit, conducted by DNV GL, included extensive interviews with PG&E employees and field visits to verify process safety standards utilized throughout Gas Operations. The certification adds to PG&E’s best-in-class operational standards for Gas Operations.

PG&E is also one of the first utilities in the world to hold both the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 55001:2014 and Publicly Available Specification (PAS)55-1: 2008 certifications for its asset management. In 2015, PG&E became the first company in the U.S. to meet the rigor of the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice (API RP 1173) for pipeline safety management systems and safety culture.

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 utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with over 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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