PG&E to replace 1,200 miles of gas pipe

[alp227]

Source: SF Chronicle

(10-14) 14:57 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will undertake a multiyear effort to remove more than 1,200 miles of natural-gas plastic pipeline that has been linked to numerous failures nationwide, including two explosions in Northern California in the past six weeks, the company said Friday.

The company's decision to replace the pre-1973 pipe, a DuPont product known as Aldyl-A, marks a departure from a policy that PG&E had reaffirmed as recently as last week to assess its gas-distribution system before deciding which lines to replace.

The replacement project is likely to run into the millions of dollars, although PG&E would give no cost estimate Friday. The company is likely to ask the California Public Utilities Commission to pass the cost along to customers.

The DuPont pipe is used in distribution systems that deliver gas to homes. DuPont warned customers nearly three decades ago that Aldyl-A pipe made before 1973 was prone to cracking and sudden failure.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/14/BAK51LHQB7.DTL

[glowing]

1. It takes Explosions for these ass hats to upgrade their equipment.

Again, why is it that essential public needs is owned and operated by private companies. At least they should be heavily regulated.. but oh no, they bribe politicians to look the other way.. endangering the people they were supposed to work for and protect.

[Endangered Specie]

6. Utility companies like this are very heavily regulated...

compared to other businesses. They should be, given how they are monopolies (monopolies + no regulation = health insurance comapanies... disaster). Most wall street types slam/ignore utility company stock because of said regulation (hence why utilities offer such high dividends to attract value investors).

There is no way to know for sure if its the utilities fault, or the regulators fault, for taking so long to upgrade those pipelines... 50/50 either way (sometimes the regulators will hold up upgrades or new lines... either gasline or transmission line; sometimes utilities will put it off).

[dkf]

2. Geez finally.

[hunter]

3. Plastic natural gas pipe failure data kept secret

The Chronicle did some good work here:

Plastic natural gas pipe failure data kept secret

Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, September 26, 2011

The type of plastic pipe that caused a natural gas explosion and fire in a Cupertino condominium last month has long been considered a potential threat to the public, but federal pipeline regulators have allowed companies to keep it in the ground and secretly gather limited information about its failings, a Chronicle investigation shows.

Companies such as Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which owns the line that caused the Cupertino blast, don't have to routinely report what they know about failure rates of particular brands of plastic pipes, even to the federal and state agencies that regulate pipeline operators. The federal government, bowing to industry resistance, has never required it.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/26/MNAH1L8QMB.DTL

It's obscene that big corporations can influence the federal government like this.

[PuffedMica]

4. They need to replace the gas pipeline with solar panels

Clean, renewable energy is the way to go.

[hunter]

5. That would be hideously expensive...

... not simply for the solar panels, but for the immediate replacement of water heaters, furnaces, clothes dryers, stoves, etc.

I think gas will be around for a long time; hopefully not by fracking, deep water drilling or synthesis from coal, but made from renewables and NOT used to generate baseload electricity.

If you really want to agitate people against renewable energy, take away their existing gas cooktops.