5. Assignment of Proceeding
Timothy Alan Simon is the assigned Commissioner and John S. Wong is the assigned ALJ in this proceeding.
1. The safety phase of this proceeding was opened after the San Bruno explosion to focus on ensuring the safe operation of PG&E's GT&S operations over the four-year rate cycle covered by this proceeding and into the future.
2. PG&E is obligated under Pub. Util. Code § 451 to provide "adequate, efficient, just, and reasonable service, instrumentalities, equipment and facilities ... as are necessary to promote the safety, health, comfort, and convenience of its patrons, employees, and the public."
3. Today's decision builds on other actions this Commission has ordered PG&E to take to ensure the safe operation of PG&E's facilities and operations.
4. Prior to the San Bruno explosion some of the local fire departments may not have had maps or knowledge of PG&E's gas transmission lines in the San Bruno area.
5. Following the San Bruno explosion, PG&E contacted all of the cities and counties in its service territory to offer meetings on gas safety and to provide information about PG&E's gas pipeline locations.
6. Requiring PG&E to provide the maps of its GT&S and associated shut-off valves to affected fire departments and agencies will provide those entities with the information they may need to control and manage fire emergencies.
7. Initial reports of the San Bruno explosion raised a question about whether the fire was caused by an airplane crash or a natural gas leak, and the resulting fire raised questions about whether the gas shut-off valves could have been turned off more quickly, and the kind of evacuation procedures that should be followed for natural gas incidents.
8. The timeline of the San Bruno explosion, and the testimony at the March 1, 2011 NTSB hearing, reveal that it took approximately an hour and a half from the time of the explosion until the first valve in the area was manually turned off by PG&E workers.
9. During this timeline, there appears to have been a lack of communication between PG&E's dispatch center and PG&E's gas control center, informing the responding fire departments of PG&E's estimated time to turn off the gas, and traffic problems which may have delayed PG&E's response.
10. In letter directives and in Resolution L-403, the Commission expressed concern over the time in which it took to manually shut off the gas valves in San Bruno.
11. The revised scoping ruling identified the frequency of testing or monitoring of PG&E's shut-off valves for its GT&S facilities as a safety phase issue because frequent testing of the valves ensures that the valves are in working order and can be operated for regular maintenance and turned off in an emergency.
12. As part of PG&E's Pipeline 2020 program, which is to be evaluated in R.11-02-019, PG&E plans to expand the use of automatic or remotely operated shut-off valves in pipeline segments located in urban areas.
13. According to PG&E's November 22, 2010 comments, PG&E operates and maintains the gas shut-off valves once per calendar year and not less than every 15 months.
14. One of the likely new rules the Commission is considering in R.11-02-019 is to require gas utilities to evaluate whether automatic or remote controlled valves should be installed on gas transmission lines, and to require the gas utilities to develop criteria for installing such valves in certain areas.
15. Another safety-related issue is to promote customer education about the dangers of excavations or dig-ins near gas transmission and distribution lines, what someone should do and whom to call if they smell the odor of natural gas, and promoting customer awareness of the general locations and safety of gas transmission facilities in urban and high consequence areas.
16. Promoting customer education on dig-ins and the odor of natural gas can be achieved in a cost-effective manner by requiring PG&E to include such bill inserts into its customers' bills on an annual basis.
1. The costs associated with the procedures and protocols adopted in today's decision shall be covered by the revenues that the Commission recently authorized in D.11-04-031.
2. This decision formalizes the requirement that PG&E offer maps at no charge to each fire department or agency in PG&E's service territory of the gas transmission lines, gas storage facilities, and the associated shut-off valves, that are located in the jurisdiction of each particular fire department or agency.
3. The issue of whether PG&E should be required to install automatic or remotely controlled valves is to be decided in R.11-02-019.
4. PG&E should be required to provide the inspection records for the GT&S valves as set forth in the ordering paragraph.
5. CPSD should be directed to review these inspection records to ensure that PG&E is in compliance with 49 CFR §192.745, and to bring to the Commission's attention if problems are detected with PG&E's inspection of its GT&S valves.
6. PG&E should be required to prepare and mail out two bill inserts on the topics of: (1) whom to call before someone excavates or digs; and (2) the number(s) to call in the event someone smells the odor of natural gas and the precautions the caller should take if an odor is present. PG&E should also be required to broaden its existing and ongoing customer outreach activities to promote public awareness of the general location, and confidence in the safety, of PG&E's gas transmission facilities that are located in urban and high consequence areas.
7. PG&E should be ordered to incorporate the protocols and procedures described in this decision into PG&E's existing public safety and training efforts, emergency operations plan, dispatch procedures, and customer education efforts.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. As described in this decision, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) shall incorporate the following protocols and procedures into its existing public safety and training efforts, emergency operations plan, dispatch procedures, and customer education efforts.
a. At no charge, PG&E shall offer maps with sufficient detail to each fire department or agency in PG&E's service territory of the gas transmission lines, gas storage facilities, and the associated shut-off valves that are located in the jurisdiction of each particular fire department or agency. These maps shall be in a print format, and/or in a digital format that these fire departments and agencies can use or access as an on-line resource.
(1) By July 29, 2011, PG&E shall notify all of the fire departments and agencies in its service territory by mail that it is obligated by this decision to provide the maps to each fire department or agency upon request, that PG&E will meet with them to discuss the maps, and that PG&E will provide future training on responding to a natural gas leak or fire.
(2) By August 26, 2011, PG&E shall file and serve a notice in this proceeding that it has mailed such letters to all the affected fire departments and agencies, and a list of those departments, agencies, and names shall be attached to the notice.
(3) If PG&E adds additional gas transmission lines or changes the configuration or location of where the gas transmission lines or shut-off valves are located, PG&E shall offer any updated map to the affected fire department or agency within 60 days of the completion of such a change.
b. As part of PG&E's public safety and training efforts, PG&E shall be required to provide free training on natural gas to every fire department and agency on a regional basis in PG&E's service territory.
(1) At least 45 days before the scheduled regional training, PG&E shall notify, by letter, the fire departments and agencies in the region of this free training opportunity. This training shall first be offered to those fire departments and agencies with gas transmission lines located in densely populated and urban areas. The training in these areas shall be offered starting no later than October 2011 and completed by June 2012. Subsequent regional trainings shall then be offered to other fire departments and agencies where gas transmission lines or gas storage facilities are sited in more rural areas. The training in the rural areas shall be completed by October 2012. After this natural gas training has been offered in all of PG&E's service territory, this training shall be repeated thereafter at three-year intervals.
(2) Once PG&E has developed a schedule of the dates and tentative locations for these natural gas training opportunities, PG&E shall send a letter(s) to the Executive Director, the director of the Consumer Protection and Safety Division (CPSD), and to the assigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) informing the Commission of the schedule for these training opportunities.
(3) Once the materials for this natural gas training have been finalized, a copy of the materials to be used at such trainings shall also be sent to the Executive Director, the director of CPSD, and the ALJ. Should CPSD or other Commission staff desire to observe this training, PG&E shall provide that opportunity.
(4) PG&E's natural gas training shall incorporate the following topics, which are described in detail in section 3.3. of this decision:
(a) A description of and an overview of the locations of PG&E's gas transmission, gas distribution lines, and gas storage facilities, in the area covered by the regional training; how these locations and facilities correlate to the maps that PG&E offers; the sensitive nature of the maps; and how these various facilities operate to transport, store, and deliver natural gas.
(b) How to reach PG&E's emergency contact number(s), and provide an overview of how PG&E dispatches its response personnel to a gas leak or fire.
(c) The precautionary measures that fire departments and agencies should take in responding to a natural gas leak or fire.
(d) How to recognize or detect natural gas leaks if there is no fire.
(e) What sort of evacuation procedures and restricted access procedures should be instituted by responding fire departments and agencies in the event of a natural gas leak or fire.
(f) The steps to take to prevent sparks or ignition from occurring in the area of the gas leak or fire.
(g) Provide information to the fire departments and agencies about the shut-off valves.
(h) Provide information about the best methods for controlling and managing a natural gas fire, and dissipating the natural gas to avoid an explosion or fire.
(i) Discuss best methods for PG&E dispatch to coordinate with emergency response personnel for escort assistance if traffic or other conditions delay a timely response from PG&E.
(j) PG&E shall have the flexibility to include other safety-related topics in the training relevant to the safe and reliable operation of PG&E's gas facilities.
c. PG&E shall be required to incorporate the following changes, as described in section 3.4. of this decision, into its dispatch and emergency response procedures within 90 days of the effective date of this decision:
(1) PG&E shall have personnel available 24 hours each day to answer emergency calls at its dispatch center, and to have qualified personnel available to respond to an emergency call involving its natural gas operations.
(2) PG&E shall provide all the fire departments and agencies in its service territory with the telephone number(s) for PG&E's emergency dispatch center.
(3) Upon receiving an emergency call, the PG&E dispatch center shall try to ascertain whether the incident involves a fire, natural gas leak or odor, the location or vicinity of the incident, the name of the person calling and a contact number, and shall immediately dispatch qualified PG&E emergency personnel who can timely respond to that particular type of emergency.
(4) If PG&E dispatch can ascertain that the fire or leak involves a PG&E gas transmission line, PG&E dispatch shall contact the on-call Gas Maintenance and Construction (M&C) supervisor to coordinate the immediate dispatch of a Gas M&C crew trained and qualified to respond to an incident involving a PG&E gas transmission line. PG&E dispatch may also contact PG&E's gas operations control to determine whether there are concurrent unusual readings, problems, or other abnormal operations on the gas transmission lines located in the area of the reported incident.
(5) PG&E shall have all of the necessary valve shut-off tools and equipment that are used to respond to natural gas emergencies (with the exception of tools and equipment that are too large to be a standard piece of equipment on a vehicle) on board all designated PG&E emergency response vehicles, and at the PG&E maintenance yards that are used to respond to natural gas emergencies.
(6) If a PG&E Gas Service Representative (GSR) is dispatched by PG&E dispatch to respond to an emergency call, the GSR at the time of dispatch shall provide PG&E dispatch with an estimated time of arrival to the incident, and contact PG&E dispatch upon turning off the natural gas at the incident area or resolving the situation. Upon dispatch of the GSR, PG&E dispatch shall then track the GSR's whereabouts through the use of an onboard tracking device, and if the GSR does not arrive at the incident by the estimated time of arrival, PG&E dispatch shall contact the GSR for an update on the estimated time of arrival, and dispatch another GSR should circumstances warrant. If a Gas M&C crew is dispatched, and that crew will not arrive by the estimated time, the Gas M&C crew shall contact the Gas M&C supervisor to provide an update on the estimated time of arrival, and if circumstances warrant, the Gas M&C supervisor shall dispatch another Gas M&C crew. The Gas M&C supervisor shall then contact PG&E dispatch to update the estimated time of arrival of the Gas M&C crew. If PG&E dispatch is notified that the Gas M&C crew has not arrived at the incident by the estimated time of arrival, and the Gas M&C supervisor fails to contact PG&E dispatch with an update on the estimated time of arrival, PG&E dispatch shall contact the Gas M&C supervisor for an update on the dispatch of the Gas M&C crew.
(7) The PG&E dispatcher shall: note the time of dispatch; the personnel dispatched; and the estimated time of arrival to the incident. If the dispatched personnel do not arrive at the incident by the estimated time of arrival, PG&E dispatch shall contact the appropriate personnel to update the estimated time of arrival.
(8) In an incident in which a fire department or agency has responded, PG&E dispatch shall notify the responding fire department or agency of the estimated time of arrival of the dispatched PG&E personnel.
(9) If a traffic-related or other problem delays the dispatched PG&E personnel from getting to the incident within the time estimated, a dispatched GSR shall contact PG&E dispatch to update the estimated time of arrival, and a dispatched Gas M&C crew shall contact the Gas M&C supervisor to update the estimated time of arrival. If the problem is likely to continue and prevent a timely response, PG&E dispatch shall, in appropriate circumstances, contact the responding fire department or agency and/or law enforcement for an emergency vehicle to escort the PG&E vehicle and personnel, if possible, so that PG&E personnel can timely respond to the incident. PG&E shall maintain an up-to-date list of the telephone number contacts of these emergency response departments and agencies for this purpose.
(10) PG&E dispatch, gas control operations, and emergency response personnel, shall be trained on PG&E's dispatch and emergency response procedures on an annual basis, and a record of those attending the trainings shall be maintained.
(11) Within 120 days of the effective date of today's decision, PG&E shall transmit to the Executive Director, the director of CPSD, and the assigned ALJ, a copy of PG&E's emergency response and dispatch procedures that incorporate the dispatch procedures described above.
d. PG&E is directed to submit to the Executive Director, the director of CPSD, and to the ALJ, a copy of PG&E inspection records for its GT&S valves.
(1) PG&E is directed to submit the inspection records for 2009 and 2010 of all the GT&S valves by September 30, 2011, and the inspection records for 2011 and 2012 by March 30, 2013.
(2) CPSD is directed to review these inspection records to ensure that PG&E has inspected all of its GT&S valves in accordance with § 192.745 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If CPSD detects problems in PG&E's inspection records, CPSD shall bring this to the attention of the Executive Director and the Commissioners.
e. In accordance with section 3.5.2. of this decision, PG&E shall prepare and mail out two bill inserts on the topics of: (1) whom to call before someone excavates or digs; and (2) the number(s) to call in the event someone smells the odor of natural gas, and the precautions the caller should take if an odor is present.
(1) PG&E shall provide the Public Advisor's office with a draft of the two bill inserts by September 2, 2011 for review and approval.
(2) Once the bill inserts are approved by the Public Advisor's office, PG&E shall mail out these two bill inserts to all of its customers by December 31, 2011, and on an annual basis thereafter.
f. In accordance with section 3.5.2. of this decision, PG&E shall over the rate case period broaden its existing and ongoing customer outreach activities to promote public awareness of the general location, and confidence in the safety, of PG&E's gas transmission facilities that are located in urban and high consequence areas. To the extent possible, PG&E should use community-based organizations to assist in disseminating this kind of information. PG&E shall provide an annual report of these efforts to the Executive Director, the director of CPSD, and to the ALJ, beginning January 30, 2012, and ending on January 30, 2015.
2. Application 09-09-013 is closed, but the Docket Office may accept after the closing of this proceeding any documents that are required by this decision to be filed.
This order is effective today.
Dated July 14, 2011, at San Francisco, California.
MICHAEL R. PEEVEY
President
TIMOTHY ALAN SIMON
CATHERINE J.K. SANDOVAL
MARK J. FERRON
Commissioners
I abstain.
/s/ MICHEL PETER FLORIO
Commissioner
ATTACHMENT A
(List of Appearances)
************** PARTIES ************** |
Ann L. Trowbridge |
Brian T. Cragg |
Kerry C. Klein |
Marcel Hawiger |
Richard A. Myers |
Mike Cade |
Gary Baum |
Cassandra Sweet |
Jeanne B. Armstrong |
MRW & ASSOCIATES, LLC |
Jennifer Dowdell |
Michael S. Alexander |
Andrew Yim |
(END OF ATTACHMENT A)
