PG&E reports progress on fulfilling NTSB recommendation

Pacific Gas and Electric Company reports having completed several of the recommendations outlined by the National Transportation Safety Board in response to the fatal 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion and fire.

Since the incident, PG&E has concentrated on modernizing its operations and has introduced new management to lead the effort, according to a 10-page document addressed to the NTSB. The NTSB’s recommendations, produced in September from the agency’s nearly year-long investigation into the San Bruno accident, have helped guide PG&E’s actions toward improving the safety of its systems.

"PG&E has fully embraced the NTSB’s important recommendations, and we’re grateful for the agency’s investigation and direction,” PG&E President Chris Johns said in a prepared statement. "We are united with our regulators in our determination to prevent a tragedy like the San Bruno accident from ever happening again.”

Among the steps taken to address the NTSB’s concerns, PG&E has verified the maximum allowable operating pressure on 1,600 miles of natural gas pipelines, updated its emergency response plan to reflect industry best practices, and is implementing data management systems to ensure its pipeline records are traceable, verifiable and complete.

PG&E’s Pipeline Safety Enhancement Plan, which was submitted this year for approval to the California Public Utilities Commission, details many of the improvements under way or planned over the next few years. The plan incorporates and goes beyond the NTSB’s recommendations, calling for continued pipeline replacement and retrofits.

More information on the actions PG&E is taking to improve the safety of its gas system can be found in PG&E’s Integrated San Bruno Response Plan at http://www.pge.com/myhome/edusafety/systemworks/gas/overview/.