As another result of the heightened scrutiny prompted by the San Bruno natural gas pipeline explosion, a new California regulatory unit has identified 17 potential hazards as part of a new statewide database on gas system hazards.

The Risk Assessment Unit (RAU) at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) filed its first status report Wednesday under a process that state regulators established after the September 2010 San Bruno pipeline rupture and explosion as a means of ensuring that both the CPUC and utilities take action on public safety concerns.

Among the 17 hazards, 11 were classified as needing to be addressed now, including the susceptibility of older plastic pipe to premature, brittle-like cracking and ineffective gas leak detection and response programs.

Separately, but still related to recent work critical of the utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) on Thursday said it was moving to improve record-keeping of its pipelines and maintenance/safety programs. PG&E said it was moving fast to overhaul its records management, particularly for gas pipelines, following a critical report from CPUC’s safety staff (see Daily GPI, March 14).

PG&E received more critical reviews regarding its record-keeping, alleging it was a “contributing factor” to the San Bruno explosion, a CPUC Consumer Protection and Safety Division (CPSD) report concluded. CPSD confirmed what has emerged since the San Bruno pipeline rupture, namely that PG&E’s record-keeping as part of its pipeline integrity management and safety system was “deficient, ineffective, incomplete and inaccurate.”

Following the San Bruno explosion, PG&E retained PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to assess record-keeping across its entire gas operations organization, and PwC is close to concluding its work and publishing a final report. Noting data management is a cornerstone of pipeline safety, PG&E said it has been forging ahead on a “multi-faceted process” to improve how it keeps track of its thousands of miles of distribution and transmission pipe.

“PG&E is well aware that we had records challenges and we’re addressing them in a thoughtful manner,” said Executive Vice President Nick Stavropoulos, who heads the utility’s gas operations. “That’s where PwC’s assessment will help.”

RAU said in its initial round of work it has identified some 550 potential hazards in the post-San Bruno assessment. Further refinement reduced the total to slightly more than 100, and from that the 17 areas needing attention were composed. They are identified as potentially impacting public safety, and they are of concern not only to the CPUC but also the federal Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Pipeline Safety Administration (PHMSA) in the Department of Transportation.

In regard to the plastic pipe cracking hazard, PHMSA has issued advisories to gas system operators. The RAU is preparing to solicit data from PG&E and the other major California utility natural gas pipeline system operators, and the risk unit will report findings to the CPUC once the data collected is analyzed. The RAU is also looking for “blind spots” for state and federal regulation and will be dealing with the CPUC staff and internal issues, one of which it is recommended that the CPUC create a cross-functional task force.

Finally, the internal issues to be addressed center on CPSD developing a better internal/external communications approach.

“The CPUC is doing additional research to understand the potential impacts of the hazards in California, how prevalent they are in California utility systems, and what regulatory framework or orders might be necessary to address them,” said a CPUC spokesperson, adding that the RAU eventually will recommend some “next steps” for the regulatory commission.

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