CONSUMERS ENERGY CO
gas_transmission Incident —
Incident Information
| Report Date | — |
| Operator | CONSUMERS ENERGY CO |
| Commodity | — |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 41.80225, -85.58669 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | — |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | — |
| Lost Commodity | — |
| Public/Private Damage | — |
| Emergency Response | — |
| Environmental Remediation | — |
| Other Costs | — |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2015 AT APPROXIMATELY 05:37 CONSUMERS ENERGY GAS CONTROL REPRESENTATIVE RECEIVED AN ALARM AT THE WHITE PIGEON COMPRESSOR STATION IDENTIFYING A POTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH THE EMERGENCY SHUT-DOWN SYSTEM (ESD) IN PLANT #3. THE WHITE PIGEON COMPRESSOR STATION IS LOCATED IN WHITE PIGEON, MICHIGAN (ST. JOSEPH COUNTY) A STATION MECHANIC ARRIVED AT THE LOCATION AT APPROXIMATELY 06:02 AND OBSERVED GAS BLOWING FROM FIREGATE VALVE #638. THE MECHANIC MANUALLY CLOSED THE REDUNDANT VALVE, VALVE #639 SHUTTING DOWN THE BLOWING GAS AT APPROXIMATELY 06:09. THERE WERE NO INJURIES OR SIGNIFICANT PROPERTY DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THE GAS RELEASE. SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATION OF THE INCIDENT DETERMINED A FAILED OPERATOR RESULTING FROM A BLOWN FUSE IN THE ACTUATOR CAUSED THE VALVE TO PERFORMED AN UNINTENDED VALVE TRAVEL SEQUENCE CAUSING THE VALVE TO FAIL SAFE IN THE OPEN POSITION AND RELEASE GAS. CONSUMERS ENERGY IS CONTINUING TO COLLABORATE WITH THE ROTORK REPRESENTATIVE TO EXPLORE EQUIPMENT DESIGN OPTIONS TO PROVIDE AN ADVANCE TROUBLE INDICATION WITHOUT INADVERTENTLY PERFORMING AN IMMEDIATE ESD ON FAILURE OF THE FUSE. ADDITIONAL INTERNAL MEASURES HAVE ALSO BEEN PUT IN PLACE TO MINIMIZE THE POTENTIAL FOR RE-OCCURRENCE.
About This Pipeline Incident
Pipeline incident data is reported to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). All significant incidents involving fatalities, injuries, or property damage over $50,000 must be reported.