PG&E releases maps of major gas pipelines and a list of problem segments

Acting to smooth its public image, the Bay Area utility whose natural gas pipeline exploded in a deadly fireball Sept. 9 responded Monday with a variety of disclosures demanded by residents, regulators and politicians, including the governor.

Top executives of Pacific Gas & Electric Co., owner of the transmission line that exploded 12 days ago in San Bruno, released maps of major pipelines in its Northern and Central California service area along with a list of 100 problematic segments.

“We are here today to begin the process of restoring trust in PG&E and PG&E’s pipelines,” said Peter Darbee, the president of the regulated utility’s parent.

At the same time, the San Francisco-based company announced that it was making the same information available to the public via its website so customers and officials have a better idea of how the 5,700-mile system operates.

In a conference call with reporters, PG&E executives also said they have opened a hotline — (888) 743-7431) — where people can find out whether they live within 500 feet of a gas transmission pipeline, particularly those on the Top 100 list.

“I want to assure the public that the list is not of pipelines that are at risk or dangerous,” California Public Utilities Commission Executive Director Paul Clanon said in a statement. He said the list “is a tool” used to prioritize maintenance, repair or monitoring of pipelines.

The most common reason a pipeline segment made the list was its potential for corrosion, followed by concerns about ground movement, such as vulnerability to earthquakes and landslides. Physical and design characteristics were the third most common reason.

The section ranked No. 1 is northeast of Cordelia in Solano County.

A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who last Friday publicly asked PG&E to divulge the information, said he was pleased with the utility’s speedy compliance.

Matt David, the governor’s communications director, called on the state’s other big natural gas suppliers — Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co.— to do the same thing.

“Just like PG&E, they owe it to the first responders and residents to get this information out there to prevent another incident like San Bruno from happening, if that’s possible,” he said.

Executives with the Gas Co., which operates a combined system with San Diego Gas & Electric Co., said the utility has not compiled a pipeline repair list similar to PG&E.

“If we identify a threat to the integrity of a pipeline, we take immediate steps to repair or replace it,” said spokesman Raul Gordillo. At the same time, he said, the company is making progress complying with a federal mandate to inspect its transmission lines and has completed an initial assessment of 892 miles of its 1,100-mile system.

PG&E also is inspecting its pipes and at a rapid pace since the blast in San Bruno that killed at least four people and destroyed 37 homes, said utility President Christopher Johns. Since the incident, PG&E reduced pressure in all three lines serving the heavily populated San Francisco region, Johns said.

PG&E surveyed about 200 miles of local transmission lines, began an aerial check of more than 5,000 miles of pipelines throughout Northern and Central California and is getting ready to perform “manual walk-throughs and leak surveys” on the entire transmission grid.

“Unfortunately,” Johns noted, “still pending is the answer to the other big question of what caused the tragic events to occur” in San Bruno.

The segment of the 54-year-old, 30-inch diameter pipe that failed in San Bruno was not on PG&E’s Top 100 list, Johns said. The cause, he said, must still be determined by investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.

marc.lifsher@latimes.com

Times staff writer John Hoeffel in Los Angeles contributed to this report.