Regulators Warned PG&E Of Potential Pipeline Problems
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - A state safety inspector advised Pacific Gas and Electric more than a year before the deadly San Bruno explosion that the utility was not properly testing for corrosion and weakness on its pipelines.
A senior gas safety inspector with the California Public Utilities Commission raised concerns about the utility's testing procedures, and whether workers carrying out that testing received proper training, in a letter dated Feb. 13, 2009 that was obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle under the state's public records law.
KCBS' Holly Quan Reports:
The CPUC inspector, Sunil Shori, writes that PG&E was not making sure that it complied with federal law when it linked up gas lines with different pressures; sometimes the utility was unaware it was doing so.
Shori also writes that training for inspectors did not follow federal law.
His cites several deficiencies similar to what the National Transportation Safety Board found in its interim report issued Dec. 14, 2010 on the San Bruno Fire.
Gallery: San Bruno Pipeline Explosion
Congresswoman Jackie Speier has called for federal regulators at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to take a more hands-on approach to its oversight, rather than delegating that responsibility to the state agency.
"For the most part the CPUC has done what are called desk audits, not audits in which they actually go out and observe PG&E doing its inspections," Speier said.
Speier has asked for the federal agency to meet with PG&E before Christmas.
PG&E representatives counter that the company has aggressively addressed the CPUC's concerns about its distribution network and now meets regularly with inspectors.
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