PEOPLES GAS SYSTEM INC

Incident Narrative

ON DECEMBER 18, 2023, AT APPROXIMATELY 09:02 HOURS, PGS WAS NOTIFIED BY THE PUBLIC OF A GAS ODOR AT 3264 LONGLEAF PINE PARKWAY, ST. JOHNS COUNTY FLORIDA. RESPONDING CREWS WERE DISPATCHED AND UPON ARRIVAL, CONFIRMED THERE WAS AN ACTIVE LEAK. THE PIPELINE WAS EXCAVATED AND SQUEEZED OFF, STOPPING THE ESCAPING GAS TO MAKE SAFE AT 15:45. AN ASSESSMENT WAS MADE OF THE SCENE, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO SAFELY MANAGE THE SITE. AN EVALUATION OF OPTIONS FOR THE ONE-WAY FEED PE PIPELINE CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS SAFER TO TAKE THE LINE OUT OF SERVICE TO SAFELY INSTALL A BYPASS. AS A RESULT, 1,534 CUSTOMERS WERE OUT OF SERVICE. THE REPAIR WAS COMPLETED, AND RESTORATION OF THE AFFECTED CUSTOMERS WAS COMPLETED. PGS CREWS IDENTIFIED THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK AS A PLASTIC FUSION OF THE 6-INCH MAIN. THE FUSION WAS CUT OUT AND SENT TO A TESTING AND ANALYSIS LAB TO IDENTIFY THE CAUSE. THE TESTING FACILITY IDENTIFIED THE PLASTIC FUSION AS A FAILED WELD WITH TWO POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTORS, #1 - SURFACE CONTAMINATION OF THE FUSION INTERFACE PRIOR TO JOINING (E.G., DUST FROM SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT) AND/OR #2 - REMOVAL OF THE JOINING FORCE SHORTLY AFTER THE BEAD WAS PUSHED OUT (E.G., INADVERTENT SWITCHING OF BUTT-FUSION MACHINE'S HYDRAULIC PRESSURE TOGGLE LEVER) PREMATURELY. PGS HAS IMPLEMENTED THEIR PROCEDURE FOR A FUSION INVESTIGATION OF SEVERAL ADJACENT BUTT-FUSIONS TO CONFIRM PROPER PROCEDURES WERE FOLLOWED FOR A SAFE INSTALLATION OR DETERMINE IF ADDITIONAL FUSIONS NEED TO BE REPLACED. THIS EXERCISE IS EXPECTED TO TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS FOR EXCAVATION, REMOVE/REPLACEMENT AND TESTING OF THE SAMPLE FUSIONS.