Gas Safety

Our Approach

As the owner and operator of one of the largest natural gas systems in the United States, PG&E is responsible for an integrated transmission, storage, and distribution system that consists of approximately 50,000 miles of natural gas pipeline.

The system includes 43,800 miles of distribution main pipeline (as well as additional mileage associated with individual gas services), 6,400 miles of backbone and local transmission pipeline, and various gas storage facilities. The system also includes nine natural gas compressor stations, which receive and move natural gas through our pipeline network. PG&E’s system is supported by five independent gas storage providers.

Our focus remains on maintaining and operating this system safely and reliably, with public and workforce safety as the single most important driver of our work. While we have made progress in key safety areas, we are continuously improving as part of our commitment to gas safety excellence.

Meeting Industry Standards for Gas Operations Safety

PG&E strives for continuous improvement, and validation from third-party experts demonstrates that we are making progress towards our safety goals. We benchmark against other leading companies and seek third-party certification, which requires an extensive audit process led by Lloyds Register.

American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice (API) 1173, the industry standard on pipeline safety management systems:
- 2020 and 2018: successfully recertified as compliant
- 2015: became the first company in the U.S. to receive certification of compliance

API RP 754, Process Safety Performance Indicators:
- 2021: certified compliance with API 754:2017 and API 1173:2015
- 2020: confirmed continued compliance
- 2019: certified as compliant

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 55001 and Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 55-1:
- 2021: recertified to ISO 55001:2014 and PAS 55:2008
- 2017 and 2020: recertified for both standards
- 2014: became one of the first utilities to earn these internationally recognized asset management certifications

2021 Milestones

Gas Transmission System

PG&E continues to invest in the safety and reliability of our gas transmission pipeline system. From 2011 to 2021, we achieved the following results:

Validated safe operating pressure by strength-testing 1,566 miles of gas pipeline.
Replaced 278 miles of gas transmission pipeline.
Automated 399 valves, enabling automatic or remote-control shutoff of gas in an emergency.
Retrofitted 1,925 miles of gas transmission lines to accommodate in-line inspection tools, or ”smart pigs,“ which are used to inspect the condition of pipelines using sophisticated technology.

We also conduct surveys of our gas transmission system by air to ensure that there are no safety risks or unknown excavations occurring on or around our pipeline.

Gas Distribution System

We continue to improve the safety and reliability of PG&E’s gas distribution system through enhancements to leak response and repair, the deployment of new tools and technologies, and an overhaul of our approach to records and information management.

PG&E uses a diverse array of state-of-the-art tools to survey and inspect our gas infrastructure by air, land, and water. Crews use handheld devices; aircraft equipped with LiDAR technology; leak-detecting vehicles, boats, and drones; and all-terrain-vehicles to help identify leaks and make repairs when needed. Since 2014, PG&E’s Picarro gas leak survey vehicles have enabled us to quickly identify leaks and prioritize them for repair.

Other highlights from 2021 include:

Fixing open minor non-hazardous workable leaks within 113 days on average, exceeding our target performance of 150 days
Responding to gas odor reports within 20 minutes on average
Replacing 1,185 miles of gas main

California’s Gas System in Transition

PG&E is actively participating in a number of CPUC proceedings on the future of the gas system:

Building Decarbonization Order Instituting Rulemaking (OIR) to develop a plan to assess the feasibility of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.
Gas System Planning OIR to address system reliability standards, market structure and regulations, gas infrastructure, gas revenues and rate design, and workforce issues.

In addition, in our 2023 General Rate Case, PG&E proposed to modify the depreciation methodology for gas distribution assets from the traditional ”straight-line“ method to the ”units of production“ method. If approved, gas distribution assets will be depreciated based upon the expected throughput on those assets, resulting in more depreciation earlier and less later in time, consistent with the expected throughput decline.

PG&E is also participating in a CEC-led Gas Working Group with statewide stakeholders and a CEC-funded project to identify strategic pathways for tactical decommissioning of portions of gas infrastructure in our service area.

PG&E is also proactively working with our industrial and large commercial customers that will not be able to electrify. We are exploring solutions such as moving customers from emission-intensive fuels to cleaner burning natural gas. Many of these customers need natural gas for their production processes and PG&E’s approach helps leverage portions of the gas system to reduce emissions from these facilities, while helping to sustain important economic activity that provides jobs for Californians.

Measuring Progress

PG&E has measured our progress enhancing the safety of our gas system since 2010 and remains committed to becoming the safest, most reliable gas company in the nation.


Gas Odor Response Times
	2010	2021
Average response time in minutes	33.3	20.6
Percent response within 60 minutes	94.4%	99.5%
SCADA^{Footnote 1} Visibility and Control Points
Transmission pressures and flows	1,300	2,548
Transmission control points	870	1,001
Distribution pressures and flows	290	4,608
Leak Backlog
Grade 2 open leak average duration	N/A	113 days
Dig-In Reduction
Third party gas dig-ins per 1,000 USA tickets	3.5	0.91


	2010	2011–21
Gas Transmission
Miles of pipeline replaced	9	>278
Miles of pipeline strength tested	0	>1,566
Miles of pipeline made piggable	130	>1,925
Automated valves installed	0	399
Gas Distribution
Miles of main replaced^{Footnote 1}	27	1,185

1. In 2014, all known remaining cast iron pipe was decommissioned.¹

Natural Gas Throughput
	2019	2020	2021
Total Natural Gas Throughput (million cubic feet or MMcf)^{Footnote 1}	866,897	848,705	895,520

1. Includes interdepartmental natural gas sales for the purpose of electric generation but excludes other interdepartmental natural gas sales.¹

PG&E’s Support for RNG

PG&E is working to add RNG to the gas pipeline system in a way that is both safe and helps California address climate change.

RNG is a renewable energy resource mainly produced from dairies, non-hazardous landfills, and wastewater treatment plants, but can also come from various types of organic matter such as agricultural crop waste, forestry waste, and wooden construction waste.

PG&E anticipates we will have six RNG projects connected to our system by the end of 2022, and several more in the next few years. In total, projects with anticipated operational dates in 2022 or 2023 are expected to provide over 60,000 million cubic feet of RNG per day, which represents about 3% of daily system throughput. Two of these projects are the result of the state’s SB 1383 Dairy Pilot Program, designed to demonstrate the collection of RNG from dairy digesters and its injection into natural gas pipelines. PG&E’s goal is to supply 15% RNG to our bundled core gas customers in 2030.

Exploring Opportunities with Hydrogen

Longer-term, “green” hydrogen has the potential to support our decarbonized future. Produced from a renewable source, green hydrogen has several potential applications, including as fuel for the transportation market—especially in heavy-duty vehicles, marine, and rail—and as long-duration energy storage.

Working with a number of partners, PG&E has launched the nation’s most comprehensive end-to-end hydrogen study and demonstration facility to prepare for the hydrogen future and gain experience in different aspects of handling hydrogen.

The centerpiece of the study, known as Hydrogen to Infinity (H2∞), is a large-scale project that will blend hydrogen and natural gas in a stand-alone transmission pipeline system. H2∞ will also include a new 130-acre facility located in Lodi, California, that will serve as a study laboratory that incorporates production, pipeline transportation, storage, and combustion.

Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report 2022

Gas Safety

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Our Approach

2021 Milestones

Gas Transmission System

Gas Distribution System

Measuring Progress

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