The September 9 rupture of PG&E's 30-inch diameter Line 132 and resulting fire caused eight deaths and more than 50 injuries, and left 37 homes destroyed.
Paul Clanon, executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, conceded that the commission had been "slow" in responding to a previous fatal explosion on PG&E's system, a December 2008 gas pipeline blast in Rancho Cordova that resulted in one fatality.
The federal National Transportation Safety Board's final report on the incident faulted PG&E for a faulty pipeline repair and slow response to a leak call in the area.
The PUC has never opened its own formal investigation into Rancho Cordova, nor has it issued a fine to PG&E for the incident. The utility pledged to improve its safety practices as a result of that explosion.
The PUC "should have been quicker" on Rancho Cordova, Clanon told the committee members. The commission last week launched a "blue ribbon panel" of independent experts who will review the San Bruno incident and the PUC's own operations and make recommendations for changes.
Clanon noted that the PUC staff has recommended that four more inspectors be hired to add to the current roster of nine safety inspectors at the commission. Typically, oversight entails PUC audits of inspection records furnished by the utilities and then PUC employees conducting their own
periodic inspections as well.
"More inspectors can be a good thing," Clanon told the hearing, "but only when embedded in a situation where a company maintains a culture of safety." There is no substitute for a commitment to safety by a company, he added.
When asked to describe a culture of safety, PUC Consumer Protection & Safety Division Director Richard Clarke said it should include whether the company encourages a "just culture," in which an employee who has made a mistake can turn themselves in and not be punished for coming forward;
likewise, how frequently the CEO and COO are involved in discussions with management and the rank-and-file about safety, and its importance.
"It starts at the top; it's a matter of leadership, but it has to employ the bottom," Clarke said.
"Safety is the foundation of everything we do at PG&E," said Kirk Johnson, the utility's vice president of gas operations. He detailed measures the utility plans to take under its Pipeline 2020 program announced last week to enhance inspections, maintenance and overall pipeline safety.
But California Assemblyman Jerry Hill took issue with Johnson's statements, citing a recent report that PG&E was cited 411 times by the PUC over the last several years for unsafe practices and operations.
"If this is accurate information, and given the two deadly explosions on your infrastructure in the last two years, what might PG&E be doing differently or better, so that your safety claims align with the facts?" Hill asked Johnson.
The PG&E executive replied that safety is the "top priority" at PG&E, and that if it finds a safety problem, it is dealt with "immediately and appropriately.... We don't know the root cause of the San Bruno case, but when we do know the cause, we will work that into our program so that we ensure it
won't happen again."
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