PA Environment Digest Blog: PUC Safety Division Investigating Columbia Gas Service Disruptions To 4,000+ Customers In Beaver County

On October 17, the Public Utility Commission announced pipeline engineers from the PUC’s Safety Division are investigating an ongoing incident in Beaver County that has disrupted natural gas service to several thousand residents and businesses served by Columbia Gas.

Investigation Overview

Late in the afternoon on Sunday, October 15, Columbia Gas notified the Safety Division of an event affecting two natural gas distribution systems in Beaver County – resulting in the interruption of service to approximately 4,000 customers in and around the communities of Baden, Conway, Economy Borough and Freedom.

Following the precautionary shut-down of service in this area, Columbia Gas crews have been working to purge their gas distribution system and then begin the safe restoration of service to individual customers.

The Safety Division continues to monitor the ongoing purging and restoration efforts by crews from Columbia Gas.

The cause of the outage appears to involve a gas supply interruption from a third-party supplier, but the Safety Division investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident is ongoing – working to determine whether there are any violations of state or federal pipeline safety regulations – and the PUC has also been in communication with its federal pipeline safety counterparts at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Updates on the service restoration process, locations for a “warming station,” and additional information for impacted residents and businesses is being posted in the alert center on the Columbia Gas website.

Jurisdiction

The Safety Division recognizes the strong public interest in these types of incidents, especially for those who have been directly impacted, and works to address safety concerns in a timely manner.

Still, it is important to understand that these are complex circumstances which may require extensive analyses by engineers and other experts, or other technical study before conclusions can be reached.

Any determinations and/or actions are based on that information, within the scope of the PUC’s jurisdiction, and any safety concerns identified by investigators are addressed promptly with regulated pipeline operators and/or utilities.

The Safety Division appreciates the cooperation of emergency responders and officials in Beaver County, as well as the patience and cooperation of residents and businesses impacted by this incident.

NewsClips:

-- Beaver County Times: PUC Investigating Ongoing Columbia Gas Service Outage In Beaver County

-- WPXI: Mayor Of Economy Boro, Beaver County, Expresses Frustration At Ongoing Natural Gas Outage

-- WTAE: Columbia Gas Starts To Restore Service For Thousands Of Beaver County Customers

-- KDKA: Columbia Gas Service Restoration For 4,000 Beaver County Residents Expected To Take Days

-- TribLive: Columbia Gas Shuts Off Service To 4,000 Beaver County Residents Because Of Natural Gas Introduced Into Its System By A Third-Party Gas Supplier, No Service For Several Days

-- KDKA: Columbia Gas Halts Service For Nearly 4,000 Residents After It Identified An ‘Issue With Natural Gas Introduced Into Its System By A Third Party

-- WTAE: Thousands Of Beaver County Columbia Gas Customers To Be Without Service For Several Days

-- Post-Gazette: Columbia Gas Begins Service Restoration For 4,000 Customers In Beaver County Over Next Several Days After ‘Issue’ With Natural Gas

-- WPXI: Columbia Gas Explains Plan To Restore Service To More Than 4,000 Beaver County Customers To Ensure Safety Of Customers

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - October 14 to 20 - 6 More Abandoned Conventional Wells; Conventional Gas Migration Incident; Inactive Shale Gas Wells [PaEN]