PG&E Releases Pipeline Progress Report

The deadly San Bruno pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed dozens of homes has forced PG&E to sort through a literal mountain of paperwork.

PG&E executive Brian Cherry wrote the California Public Utilities Commission Tuesday to report that his company is currently searching through 1.25 million records, adding the project will take six weeks to complete.  The Mercury news reported that PG&E has put 300 people on the project who are working 24 hour shifts seven days a week.

"These reports reflect our ongoing efforts to raise the bar on our performance and effectively address any and all public safety issues on our gas system," PG&E vice president Kirk Johnson said in a prepare statement.

State regulators forced the utility to find and search through the files after learning its records for the San Bruno explosion area,Line 132,were inaccurate. The NTSB report, released in January, found there were faulty welds on that line. The pipeline was initially believed to be seamless.

Also Tuesday, PG&E released the results of a leak survey of all of its gas transmission pipelines that it said found the utility's leak rates compare favorably with the rest of the industry.

PG&E said it found 59 cases of leaks that created a potential hazard, adding they responded promptly to repair the lines or schedule further investigation.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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