PG&E says it may need $425 million for 300 automated shutoff valves

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Criticized for its long delay in manually shutting off gas to the ruptured San Bruno pipeline, PG&E said on Oct. 25 that it has identified some 300 manual gas valves that may need to be replaced with faster automatic or remotely controlled shut-off technology, at a potential cost of up to $450 million.

U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, hosted a meeting on Oct. 25 for PG&E officials to explain to mayors from across the Bay Area more about natural gas main shutoff valves and other pipeline details.

In its disclosures on Oct. 25, PG&E noted that the cost of replacing a manual valve with one that automatically closes after a drop in pressure from a pipe rupture or that can be remotely controlled by a human operator varies from $100,000 to $1.5 million, depending on such factors as how accessible the valve is for retrofitting. But it was vague about how many valves it has - manual or otherwise - as well as how long it might take to replace them all.
"The urgency is pretty obvious," said Speier, noting that PG&E told her earlier that a single valve replacement can take up to nine months. "

First lawsuits filed against PG&E over San Bruno pipeline explosion

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Five families filed lawsuits on Oct. 19 alleging that PG&E knew its pipeline was "defective" and posed extreme danger to the community.
At a state Senate hearing, tearful victims pressed state and utility officials to remove the pipeline from their neighborhood.
One of the lawsuits came from Susan Bullis, who lost her husband, Greg,
50; her son William, 17; and her mother-in-law, Lavonne, 82, in the
Sept. 9 blast that destroyed 37 homes. The remains of the two older
Bullises were so badly burned that they had to be identified using DNA
technology.
The lawsuit blames the deaths on PG&E, alleging that the utility knew Line 132 was "defective." PG&E's internal documents said a portion of that line, just miles from the site of the explosion, had an unacceptably high risk of failure.
"Yet (PG&E) has failed time and again to take any action to protect the
citizens imperiled by it," the Bullis lawsuit alleges.
PG&E spokeswoman Katie Romans said the utility had not yet received copies of the lawsuits and declined to comment.