PG&E Gas Line Leaks Exceed National Average
SAN BRUNO (AP) - Records show Pacific Gas & Electric, whose pipeline exploded in San Bruno earlier this month, has reported gas line leaks at a rate six times the average for other large pipeline operators.
Federal records analyzed by the Los Angeles Times shows PG&E has reported 38 leaks since 2004 along about 1,000 miles of line it controls near population centers or environmentally sensitive areas.
The leak rate was 6.2 annually per 1,000 miles of transmission pipes serving "high consequence" areas, more than six times the average leak rate for the nation's six other large operators.
Federal regulators say the number of pipeline leaks reported nationally in populated areas has declined more than 30 percent in recent years. But PG&E's average yearly leaks are up 40 percent.
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