SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced today that it has
completed another significant safety recommendation issued by the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the 2010 San Bruno
pipeline explosion.
The NTSB granted PG&E “closed acceptable action” status for installing
the recommended number of automatic and remote control shut-off valves
on its gas transmission lines.
PG&E has now satisfied 11 of the 12 safety recommendations made by the
NTSB for improving the operations and management of its natural gas
pipeline system.
“We have made incredible progress as a company toward our goal of
becoming the safest and most reliable gas provider in the country. This
latest achievement puts us one step closer toward fulfilling our
commitment to satisfy all of the NTSB recommendations. We recognize that
we have more work to do and when it comes to safety, our work is never
done,” said Jesus Soto, senior vice president of Gas Operations.
Automatic and remote control shut-off valves improve PG&E’s ability to
quickly turn off the flow of gas in the event of a significant change in
pressure. PG&E crews have installed 235 automatic and remote controlled
valves since 2011. Remote controlled valves can be opened or closed with
the push of a button from PG&E’s state-of-the-art gas control center in
San Ramon. Remote control valves were instrumental in isolating within
10 minutes a 34-inch transmission pipeline that was struck and damaged
by a third-party performing agricultural excavation in a rural area of
Bakersfield in November 2015. Automatic valves are installed where
transmission pipelines cross major fault lines and close automatically
when local sensors at the valve site detect a loss of pressure during an
anomaly event such as an earthquake.
In addition to automating 235 valves, PG&E has achieved other
significant milestones in recent years toward improving the safety and
reliability of its natural gas pipeline system including:
-
Becoming the first company in the U.S. to meet the rigor of a new
industry standard for pipeline safety management systems and safety
culture, the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice (API RP
1173), as well as becoming one of the first utilities in the world to
achieve PAS 55-1: 2008 and ISO 55001:2014 certifications for
best-in-class asset management.
-
Improving response time to gas odor reports to an average of 20
minutes, which represents the top ten percent for gas utilities
nationally.
-
Decommissioning all known remaining cast-iron pipe in its system,
replacing it with modern plastic pipe that is more flexible and
reliable during earthquakes, and newer steel pipe.
-
Replacing 127 miles of gas transmission pipeline.
The 12th and final safety recommendation from the NTSB, which
includes strength testing natural gas transmission lines, is in
“open-acceptable” status, indicating that PG&E’s progress is appropriate
and acceptable.
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 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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Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company