PG&E Updates CPUC On Comprehensive Plans To Enhance Safety Of Gas Operations

SAN FRANCISCO, June 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today filed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) an annual update on the utility's current and future work to enhance gas system safety. PG&E's 2013 Gas Safety Plan addresses every aspect of its gas operations, and details what the company is doing to maintain a safety-first culture.

Last year, PG&E's Gas Safety Plan was reviewed by the CPUC's Safety and Enforcement Division (SED), the regulatory body that oversees PG&E's safety efforts. The SED approved the plan with a set of recommendations that PG&E addresses in its latest plan submitted today. The plan highlights these improvements and provides updates on PG&E's progress, including:

• Gas Safety Excellence, PG&E's strategic plan to focus on safety and achieve Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 55 certification. PAS 55 is a rigorous globally recognized certification that represents the highest standards for an asset management plan and is currently used by over 50 public and private organizations in 10 countries and 15 industry sectors.
• An employee-led, company-wide, grassroots safety committee that promotes safe work habits, shares information and best practices, promotes open and honest communications, and finds innovative methods to perform work safely.
• A new Corrective Action Program (CAP), which collects all gas issues and ideas in a central place and ensures actions are taken to address them. The CAP includes a formalized employee feedback system to allow employees and contractors to easily, and anonymously if they choose, submit concerns, questions, ideas, and general feedback.
• The utility's unprecedented progress on its Pipeline Safety Enhancement Plan: PG&E has strength-tested or validated prior strength testing for 456 miles of transmission pipeline since the plan launched in 2011. The company has also automated 76 pipeline valves and validated the safe operating pressure for all 6,750 miles of its gas transmission pipelines.

"Every employee across our gas organization has a role to play in making sure we deliver on our Gas Safety Plan on behalf of our customers," said Nick Stavropoulos, executive vice president of gas operations. "We have created a work environment where employees are empowered to speak up to openly raise concerns and suggestions to improve the safety of our gas operations. This safety-first culture is at the heart of PG&E becoming the safest, most reliable gas company in the United States."

Today's filing is PG&E's second annual Gas Safety Plan, filed in accordance with a CPUC resolution to implement Senate Bill 705, which was signed in October 2011. In putting together its Gas Safety Plan, PG&E thoroughly reviewed the recommendations and assessments from several outside parties and consulted employees at all levels of the organization.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/ and www.pgecurrents.com.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)