State regulators have ordered Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to review thousands of miles of gas pipeline around the state. The request comes in the wake of a gas line explosion that killed at least four people and injured dozens more last Thursday in San Bruno, located south of San Francisco.
But according to Matt Mauman, a spokesman for PG&E, the explosive pipeline that ran under San Bruno was just inspected in March.
He said they’ll likely have to review all 6,400 miles of transmission pipes plus another 42,000 miles of smaller distribution pipeline.
“It seems likely we’ll do transmission first and then the distribution. This type of work is work we do on a regular basis,” said Mauman.
Mauman said it’s not yet clear how long the inspection will take, or how much it will cost. Officials say they still don’t know what caused the explosion.
Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado asked the Public Utilities Commission to order the review. Maldonado is acting governor while Governor Schwarzenegger is on a trade mission in Asia.
