SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A natural gas pipeline that utility company PG&E listed as high risk was done so in an apparent error, utility officials told California managers.
A natural gas pipeline owned by Pacific Gas and Electric burst Sept. 9, sparking a massive fireball that ripped through a San Bruno, Calif., neighborhood. The explosion killed at least eight people and destroyed 37 homes.
PG&E said it conducted surveys of its gas transmission system in California and found hundreds of locations that were suitable for upgrades and scores of other anomalies that required immediate repair.
The utility said sections of a gas pipeline in East Palo Alto that showed up on the original list didn't need repairs after all, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reports.
"Based on an improved understanding of the pipe properties as a result of this review … PG&E has determined that no repair, replacement or other action is warranted," the company said in a statement.
More than 50 residents in a San Bruno neighborhood filed a lawsuit against PG&E for not taking "corrective and life-saving action" in response to complaints of alleged signs of a gas leak before the Sept. 9 explosion.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board in a preliminary report found an electrical failure at a PG&E facility caused a pressure surge in the pipeline just before the San Bruno explosion.
