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PG&E delays natural gas pipeline improvements

Published by , Editor - Hydrocarbon Engineering
World Pipelines,


Delay in pipeline repairs

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) expects to delay a number of upgrades and repairs to its natural gas system, which were planned for completion this year, until 2015. The upgrades form part of the company’s Pipeline Safety Enhancement Programme, which was set up following the San Bruno gas explosion in 2010.

"While we wanted to get this pipeline work done in 2014, we will be carrying some of this work into next year," said Greg Snapper, a spokesman for PG&E. The company attributed the delay to a range of reasons, including the time needed to acquire land rights and construction and environmental permits.

"We would be concerned about any delay in completing critical safety improvements," said Connie Jackson, San Bruno's city manager, in response to the slowdown in the pipeline improvement programme. "We believe that the critical elements of the Pipeline Safety Enhancement Programme are items that should have been completed years or decades ago."

Progress in key areas

Despite the delays, the company has made progress in key areas, according to a new regulatory filing with the PUC. PG&E has completed 73% of 143.3 miles of pipeline replacement work (with 38.3 miles left to be replaced), finished 82% of 658 miles of strength testing of natural gas pipelines (with 117 miles left to test), completed 38% of planned inspections inside selected pipelines (with 144 miles left to inspect) and replaced 62% of the 228 natural gas valves that it had targeted for automation (with 87 valves left).

In a separate filing, Maribeth Bushey, PUC Administrative Law Judge, praised the company for improvements in its record-keeping system: "We find that PG&E has made great strides to improve its natural gas system records management from the time we began this proceeding," Bushey stated. "PG&E's efforts show an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement."


Edited from various sources by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/13052014/pge_delays_natural_gas_pipeline_improvements_332/

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