PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC CO

gas_transmission Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorPACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC CO
Commodity—
Pipeline Typegas_transmission

Location

State
Coordinates37.42541, -122.09328

Cause

CauseEQUIPMENT FAILURE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage
Lost Commodity
Public/Private Damage
Emergency Response
Environmental Remediation
Other Costs

Location Map

Incident Narrative

DURING A SCHEDULED HYDROTEST JOB, THE VALVE STEM ON AN INLET FIRE VALVE TO A REGULATOR STATION AT 2445 GARCIA AVENUE IN MOUNTAIN VIEW BROKE AT 1745 HOURS. THE VALVE WAS BEING OPERATED TO RELEASE WATER FROM THE LINE. THE VALVE WAS BROKEN IN THE PARTIALLY OPEN POSITION CAUSING GAS TO ESCAPE. IN ORDER TO ISOLATE THE BROKEN VALVE TO MAKE REPAIRS, APPROXIMATELY 7000 FEET OF LINE 132A (RENGSTORFF STATION [MOUNTAIN VIEW GOLF COURSE] TO THE SIERRA VISTA REGULATOR STATION [AT ROCK AND SIERRA VISTA AVENUE]) WAS BLOWN DOWN STARTING AT 1950 HOURS. GAS FLOW STOPPED AT APPROXIMATELY 2020 HOURS. THE DELAY BETWEEN THE BREAKING OF THE VALVE STEM AND THE START OF THE BLOW DOWN WAS THE TIME REQUIRED TO DEVELOP THE PLAN FOR THE SITUATION AND TO OBTAIN THE REQUIRED CLEARANCES. THE ESTIMATED VOLUME OF THE GAS RELEASED TO ATMOSPHERE WAS 3,000 MCF WHICH CAUSED THE NEED TO REPORT THIS INCIDENT. NO SERVICE HAS BEEN LOST.

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.

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