The California Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 27 announced an investigation of the safety culture and security of the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The announcement comes on the heels of a $1.6-billion fine. Both the probe and the fine are regulatory results of a gas leak explosion in 2010 that killed eight people in San Bruno, Calif., and an April, 2015 pipeline explosion that killed one person and injured 12 in Fresno, Calif. The utility says a new detection system it recently rolled out makes it better equipped to handle leaks than ever before.
After the San Bruno blast, the utility began tests of a gas-detection technology called Picarro Surveyor by Picarro Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. that is 1,000 times more sensitive than handheld methods, says Steve Redding, director of leak management in PG&E’s Gas Operations. The company began testing the technology and Redding says it found three times as many leaks than traditional methods. But CPUC wants to find out how it’s working first hand.