Speier: PG&E's Work to Replace Pipelines Fell $183M Short

PG&E underspent by $183 million on work it was supposed to complete in the early 1990s to replace old pipelines, including Line 132, Congresswoman Jackie Speier said today.

Speier made the announcement after the California Public Utilities Commission released information from a recent audit (see attached) as a result of the congresswoman’s request following a Mercury News story about the utility’s pipeline replacement work in San Bruno. The story showed that Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s construction crews stopped just 300 yards short of Glenview Drive and Earl Avenue, the site of the deadly Sept. 9 pipeline explosion, when they were replacing sections of Line 132 and a section of Line 109, less than half a mile away, during a seismic-safety upgrade of 1950s-era pipeline in 1993 and 1994.

As part of a PG&E request to embark on a major upgrade of all of its natural gas transmission lines installed before 1961, the CPUC authorized PG&E to spend millions of dollars on the program from 1987 to 1999. However, PG&E never spent $183 million of those funds and decided against replacing its aging pipelines in San Bruno.

“This latest audit information underscores the critical need for the CPUC to closely monitor PG&E’s decision-making on the operation of its natural gas pipelines,” Speier said in a statement.

“It is tragic that it took a disaster that killed eight people to bring to light the ramifications of $183 million in under-spending,” she added.

PG&E is now being required to evaluate its records for 1,805 miles of gas transmission pipeline throughout the state following numerous flaws found in the utility’s pipeline safety documents as part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s ongoing investigation into the pipeline blast. PG&E is currently pressure-testing 152 miles of those pipelines after failing to produce proper records, and the utility more lines.