PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC CO

Incident Narrative

AT 1114 HOURS PG&E WAS NOTIFIED OF A THIRD PARTY DIG-IN AT 1 SOUTH MARKET STREET IN SAN JOSE. A THIRD PARTY (GM ENGINEERING) STRUCK A 2-INCH PLASTIC DISTRIBUTION MAIN (NEAR A 3-WAY TEE, WHICH BRANCHES OFF A 4-INCH PLASTIC DISTRIBUTION MAIN) WITH A BACKHOE, CAUSING AN UNINTENTIONAL RELEASE OF NATURAL GAS. THE THIRD PARTY CALLED USA (NO. 459722) ON 11/3/2014. PG&E RECEIVED THE NORMAL NOTICE ON 11/03/2014 (11:25:55 AM). IN RESPONSE TO THE TICKET, PG&E ATTEMPTED TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE EXCAVATOR BEFORE LOCATING AND MARKING ITS FACILITIES. PG&E LEFT A MESSAGE FOR THE EXCAVATOR ON 11/5/2014 BUT DID NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE FROM THE EXCAVATOR TO COORDINATE THE LOCATE AND MARK PRIOR TO THE EXCAVATION. (AS IS CUSTOMARY FOR LARGE EXCAVATION PROJECTS, PG&E COMMUNICATES WITH THE EXCAVATORS TO PHASE THE MARKING OF PG&E FACILITIES TO ENSURE MARKINGS REMAIN VISIBLE IN THE EXCAVATION AREA.) A PG&E GAS SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (GSR) ARRIVED ON SCENE AT 1131 HOURS. PG&E REPAIR CREW ARRIVED AT APPROXIMATELY 1140 HOURS. GAS WAS COMPLETELY SHUT IN AT 1702 HOURS BY CLOSING 10 DISTRIBUTION MAIN VALVES AND ISOLATING APPROXIMATELY 4 BLOCKS OF THE GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND 40 CUSTOMERS. PG&E INITIALLY PLANNED TO SAFELY SQUEEZE THE 2-INCH DIAMETER PLASTIC PIPE AT A LOCATION AWAY FROM THE PERIPHERY OF THE DIG-IN LOCATION. UPON FURTHER EVALUATION IT WAS DETERMINED THAT DIGGING AND SQUEEZING THE LINE WOULD TAKE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME DUE TO THE DEPTH EXCEEDING 5 FEET AND THE NEED TO INSTALL SHORING TO COMPLETE THIS WORK. ONCE PG&E ESTIMATED THE TOTAL TIME REQUIRED FOR THE SHUT-IN, PG&E DECIDED TO LOOK FOR AN ALTERNATIVE THAT INCLUDED CLOSING VALVES IN THE SURROUNDING AREA THAT COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE MORE CUSTOMER OUTAGES. PG&E DETERMINED THAT CLOSING VALVES WAS THE FASTEST AND SAFEST METHOD AND CHOSE TO CLOSE NEARBY VALVES FOR SHUTTING IN GAS FLOW. REPAIR CREW REPLACED THE 4X4X2-INCH TEE AND THE DAMAGED 2-INCH DISTRIBUTION MAIN. ABOUT 2,500 PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED FROM OFFICE BUILDINGS ON A TWO-BLOCK AREA OF MARKET AND FIRST AND SAN PEDRO STREETS. SANTA CLARA STREET WAS CLOSED BETWEEN FIRST AND SAN PEDRO STREETS, ACCORDING TO THE VALLEY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY. BUS LINES 22, 522, 68, 17, 168, AND 181 WERE REROUTED, VTA OFFICIALS SAID. SEVERAL SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA NEWS STATIONS WERE OBSERVED ON SCENE (I.E., KTVU, NBC BAY AREA). THIS INCIDENT WAS REPORTED TO THE CPUC AND DOT DUE TO THE ESTIMATED DAMAGES EXPECTED TO EXCEED $50,000 AND MAJOR MEDIA OBSERVED ON SCENE.