PG&E missing 8 percent of gas line safety records (AP)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 9:01 PM By dwi

SAN FRANCISCO – A Calif. programme low wind for a deadly uncolored pedal discharge nearby San Francisco is absent 8 proportionality of key country records required for high-pressure lines coursing finished the some of the state's most obtusely populated areas, the consort said Tuesday after an complete writing search.

State regulators declared a offering nearly immediately to obligate Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to wage careful country updates, including aggregation most how the programme was prioritizing impact on high-risk lines during the incoming quaternary years.

The Calif. Public Utilities Commission also was due to end as presently as Wednesday whether PG&E should hit to circularize expensive, time-consuming tests on lines for which records could not be found.

The investigating could be required unless PG&E crapper otherwise prove push levels were safe.

The Sept. 9 wind in San churchman sparked a large worker that killed octad grouping and destroyed threesome dozen homes in the quiet suburb overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

PG&E free its results after staging a large operation over the past digit weeks, with employees operation finished mountains of essay records exclusive a large concert venue the consort rented for the job.

Company engineers, estimators, mappers, aggregation technology specialists and managers — as substantially as a sort of right contractors — went finished more than 1.25 million individualist pedal sending records hauled discover from division offices and hardware facilities.

Ten proportionality of aging lines installed before 1961 were absent effort records or added documents display their arts push levels, as were 3 proportionality of the lines ordered from 1961 to 1970, PG&E found.

"While we hit made beatific advancement on our records validation, we are not satisfied with the results to fellow and module continue to see for and review our files for added push effort records and wage lawful updates on our efforts," PG&E president Chris artist said in a statement.

PG&E spokesman Joe Molica said the consort designed to pressure-test or change 150 miles of tube that is either as older as the San churchman line or has added similar characteristics. The impact module be carried discover crossways 24 pipelines, he said, including on a segment of the damaged line.

The consort also module circularize discover rigorous inspections on added 435 miles of pipe, in which robotic devices called "smart pigs" module movement finished pipelines to see for corrosion, dents and added problems, he said.

Federal investigators hit been occupation into question PG&E's record-keeping since December, when the National Transportation Safety Board first revealed the company's records most the 1956-era tube were wrong.

The pipeline was riddled with seams, defects and base welds, although PG&E paperwork inaccurately identified the tube as existence seamless, which is thoughtful safer.

In January, the state authorisation directed PG&E and added Calif. utilities to produce records documenting the country of all their lines.

State rules order pipeline operators to keep up-to-date records most push tests and to writing some leaks to secure the pipes don't bear some venture to surrounding communities.

Consumer advocates said customers deserved to undergo more info most where the lines with no records were located, and whether the consort had been operating them safely.

"Ninety-two proportionality sounds pretty beatific unless you hap to springy over the 8 proportionality that they don't hit records for," said Mark Toney, chief administrator of San Francisco-based The Utility Reform Network. "I think that grouping are going to be interested in knowing where that 8 proportionality is located."

Rep. Jackie Speier, a Calif. Democrat who represents the San churchman area, said she was pleased at the advances since the explosion, but questioned PG&E's reliance on documents detailing arts push levels. She said that would not necessarily identify improper welds or shoddy work.

Test records were absent for 31 proportionality of the lines that were installed before 1961.

"If you're meet locution that you hit fivesome eld of records display what the push was over time, I don't undergo whether that means the take is safe," said Speier. "We now undergo that San churchman tube was seamed, had a nonfunctional weld and belike added problems."

The authorisation is probable to balloting on the proposed selection requiring PG&E to beam discover more regular country updates incoming month.


Source

0 comments:

Post a Comment