Seattle, WA – Although staff for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission recommended a $400,000 fine to settle a gas safety complaint against Puget Sound Energy related to a 2011 explosion and house fire, the three-member commission decided on a $275,000 penalty instead.
The complaint alleged that PSE violated gas-safety rules when it responded to reported gas leaks in the Pinehurst neighborhood of North Seattle that later destroyed a house and severely injured two people.
Under a settlement agreement, PSE admitted there were violations of gas-safety rules. The company isn’t allowed to pass penalty costs to customers through rates, according to the commission.
PSE also agreed to review its emergency procedures and make improvements. The company will evaluate its natural gas public awareness program and make improvements recommended by a consultant.
In addition, PSE will provide up to $15,000 in funding for workshops for Washington state utilities to improve communication and coordination plans among utilities in emergency situations.
Background
On Sept. 26, 2011, leaking natural gas caused an explosion and fire that destroyed a house and caused injuries to the homeowners. The explosion also caused property damage to other homes and buildings in the area.
In its investigation of the incident, commission pipeline safety engineers concluded the most likely cause of the explosion was natural gas leaking from a PSE service pipe located outside the Pinehurst home, although the investigation couldn’t rule out a gas leak in the customers’ pipes under the house.
According to the investigation report, a downed power line owned by Seattle City Light that fell the day before the explosion energized a metal fence post, an abandoned buried metal-water pipe, and then PSE’s gas-distribution piping. The leak that led to the explosion was caused by electrical arcing, which is a jolt of stray electricity that energized PSE’s gas piping and created a hole in the gas service pipe.
While PSE responded to the electrical arcing event and conducted leak surveys in the area, the investigation said that the company failed to survey all the gas service lines and mains located in the area, including the service line to the house that exploded and the gas main located under the private road serving the house.
PSE supplies natural gas to 785,000 customers, mostly in the Puget Sound region of Washington.