'Minor Issues' Found After PG&E Tests Pipeline Segment

The day after a PG&E spokeswoman told San Bruno Patch that the was successful, the utility discovered that the pipe wasn’t without flaws after all. 

An inline video inspection of the 3-mile segment, which runs from PG&E’s Healy Station on Crestwood Drive to Hillside Boulevard in South San Francisco, detected what the utility described as “minor issues” related to dents and girth welds. That discovery was made while reviewing footage from the camera inspection after workers performed a high-pressure water test on the section earlier this month and found no weaknesses in the line, said Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokeswoman Brittany Chord. 

In a letter hand-delivered to customers Tuesday, PG&E said it would continue to keep the line out of service until it can be further evaluated. 

“We’re taking a conservative approach by bringing in industry experts to assess the pipeline before putting it back in service,” Chord said, although she didn’t elaborate on what kind of experts would be brought in to inspect the line. 

Line 132—the gas transmission pipeline that ruptured on Sept. 9 near Glenview Drive and Earl Avenue, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes—has continued to be under intense scrutiny as reports have surfaced about defective welds along the pipe and shoddy record-keeping by PG&E. 

Chord wouldn’t say how significant were the issues found in the segment of Line 132 tested this month—just 1 mile away from the explosion site. But Bob Bea, a UC Berkeley engineering professor and risk-management expert, said the flaws indicate further problems on Line 132. 

He likens the issues with the pipeline, which was installed in the 1950s, to having a leak in a really old roof. 

“You fix the leak, and then you could find out the roof is old or the shingles were cracked,” Bea said. “At one point, you can climb off the roof and say, ‘I fixed it.’ But at the same time, the shingles could still be cracked in other places. That means you’ve likely got sources for leaks elsewhere on the roof.” 

In the meantime, PG&E has ordered a 50 percent cut in the maximum pressure for the stretch of Line 132 recently tested once the line is put back in service, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. 

Chord said customers shouldn’t feel an impact in gas service but that they could expect an inconvenience from the ongoing construction work in the area.

Correction: San Bruno Patch incorrectly stated that a PG&E spokeswoman said the utility on Monday uncovered minor issues related to dents and girth welds on a 3-mile section of Line 132. Workers discovered the issues on Tuesday.