Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) plans before the end of this month to file a proposed natural gas pipeline implementation plan with state regulators as part of its Pipeline 2020 program that was unveiled in the wake of last year’s San Bruno pipeline rupture and explosion.

PG&E hopes to file its plan with the California Public Utilities Commission by next Friday (Aug. 26), a utility spokesperson told NGI. Part of it will be applying advanced technology in the utility’s stepped-up maintenance and safety checks on its 6,000-mile transmission pipeline system.

Nationally, industry leaders, such as Allan Bradley, Questar Pipeline Co. CEO and the current chairman at the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), have called for a more comprehensive government-industry efforts to create a “pipeline safety technology road map.”

At PG&E, natural gas officials reported recently on efforts to test helicopter-mounted laser devises for scanning large transmission pipeline expanses to detect leaks. “They hope this will help the company better detect gas leaks and prevent any repeats of the devastating San Bruno pipeline disaster,” said a report on the San Francisco-based combination utility’s website.

In response to the San Bruno explosion, PG&E outlined a five-part initiative it dubbed Pipeline 2020. One of the five components called for “spurring development of next-generation inspection technologies.” The others covered modernizing the pipeline infrastructure, expanding the use of auto and remotely operated shut-off valves, developing industry-leading best practices, and enhancing public safety partnerships in the communities in which the pipelines are located.

PG&E gas experts spent the better part of a week earlier in August flying helicopters across Solano and Yolo counties, northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area, testing the reliability and accuracy of the new technology. “PG&E is transforming its gas operations, and we are looking across the industry to adopt and implement best practices and also looking at the best technologies to make our gas operations more effective and efficient … and safer for our customers,” a spokesperson said. “The company tested laser detection technology from three companies.”

Utility crews flew over PG&E easements where the utility had simulated leaks, false positives and decoys, all to see how the equipment could differentiate whether something was a leak. According to a report on the utility website, “preliminary results were encouraging.”

The company will now do a more thorough evaluation of the studies and hopes to have final results by mid-September. If the technology proves viable, the spokesperson said, PG&E would implement its use by the end of this year.

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