SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas and Electric Co. says more than 200 of its gas pipelines are in danger of a failure similar to the deadly 2010 explosion in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno.
The company found the transmission pipelines had sections riddled with vulnerable seam welds. It identified a total of 239 problematic pipeline segments spanning a total of 47 miles throughout Northern and Central California.
The company says the welds are at risk of failure because of their age or the company’s previous practice of pressurizing the lines above legal limits.
Eight people died and 38 homes were destroyed when a transmission line with a faulty weld exploded in San Bruno on Sept. 9, 2010.
PG&E says the company plans to pressure test, replace or otherwise examine the pipeline segments it identified over the next two years.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.