Pittsburgh Tribune reported that Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania is on pace to dig up more than 100 miles of old steel and iron pipe this year and put in new plastic or steel lines.
Mr Dan Cote GM of operations for the Cecil based natural gas utility said that "This is the largest single year of pipe replacement in our history."
Cote said that the 450 miles or about 19% of its first generation pipe, had been replaced by the end of last year. Some of the cast iron or bare steel lines dated to the 1880s and had become prone to breaks or corrosion. Columbia customers are footing the cost, about USD 190 million so far, but customers of other Western Pennsylvania gas utilities are paying a few more dollars a month as utilities step up infrastructure updates.
Mr Terrence Fitzpatrick president of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania said that gas utilities must file plans with the federal Department of Transportation, saying how they'll monitor for leaks and maintain their lines.
Mr Fitzpatrick said that "Columbia has in particular accelerated more quickly than most, to get the old pipelines out of the ground. There are a number of reasons to do this. All utilities recognize that those pipes are their stock in trade, and they want to take care of them. New pipelines improve reliability, and cut the number of leaks you have. They enhance safety even beyond federal standards. And the projects create jobs."
The latest, approved last month, raises the company's annual revenue by USD 17 million a year and adds USD 2.45 to a typical residential customer's monthly bill, but the company said it can't break out pipeline expenses from operations costs figured into the increase.
State Consumer Advocate Mr Sonny Popowsky doesn't like the Pennsylvania bill's broad impact on capital projects by all monopoly, regulated utilities and its failure to require companies to ramp up infrastructure work.
Mr Ted Robbins, staff attorney for Squirrel Hill based consumer group Citizen Power, called the legislation unnecessary and is uneasy with the bill's failure to guarantee public hearings for rate increases. He said that "It's preferable to have base rate hearings. They take time for a reason, because we want to get everything right."
(Sourced from www.pittsburghlive.com)
