LOS ANGELES, May 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) is seeking to accelerate its pipeline
replacement and leak repair program and has submitted a funding
request with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). If
approved, it would enable SoCalGas to repair all currently
identified, pending non-hazardous leaks on the SoCalGas system by
the end of 2018 or earlier.
SoCalGas is also filing a report with the CPUC that outlines the
utility's leak-management practices in compliance with Senate Bill
(SB) 1371. The new California law
seeks to reduce methane emissions from natural gas transmission,
distribution and storage systems. It also requires utilities to
report information about leak-management practices, new leaks,
leaks being monitored, leaks scheduled for repair and a "best
estimate" of gas loss due to leaks.
"SoCalGas has a longstanding commitment to reducing methane
emissions, and we are proud to have one of the lowest natural gas
leak rates of any utility in the nation," said Bret Lane, chief operating officer of SoCalGas.
"We are working to make our system even safer, tighter and part of
the solution to improving the environment."
Over the past year, SoCalGas has been working with major
universities, regulatory agencies and environmental organizations
to refine its approach in methane detection technology and to raise
public awareness of its efforts to reduce methane emissions.
As part of this effort, SoCalGas today published an interactive
map on its website that allows the public to view methane
indications and non-hazardous gas leaks located near its pipeline
system. Federal regulations consider a non-hazardous leak to be one
that is far from an ignition source and away from a structure where
the gas can accumulate and become concentrated to dangerous levels.
All hazardous leaks are repaired immediately and do not appear on
the map.
With safety as a core priority, SoCalGas focuses ratepayers'
funds toward strategically replacing pipe as prioritized through
engineering studies. By this infrastructure strategy, SoCalGas has
succeeded in maintaining safety and reducing its rate of overall
methane emissions to 0.12 percent of all gas delivered in 2011, one
of the lowest rates in the nation. A Washington State University study published
March 31, 2015, in Environmental
Science & Technology found methane emissions from U.S.
local natural gas distribution systems, including SoCalGas', are 36
to 70 percent lower than current estimates by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
SoCalGas also participated in EDF's methane mapping project
which applied a "top down" methodology using car-mounted sensors to
take air samples to detect methane levels. The method shows methane
concentrations in the air. Using the same car-mounted
technology, SoCalGas conducted its own ambient measurements and
supplemented those with "boots-on-the-ground" leak surveys. Trained
SoCalGas technicians walked along the pipeline system to do "bottom
up" detection. Often, between 40-50 percent of the time, there was
no correlation between ambient methane detected by the EDF project
and an actual system leak.
"Often methane comes from other sources, like biological
sources, or field gas, which is common in Southern California," said Deanna Haines, director of gas engineering at
SoCalGas. "In fact, according to the state's 2012 inventory,
biological sources represent 87 percent of the total methane
emissions to the atmosphere. SoCalGas believes regulatory focus on
these large sources of methane can enable capture and delivery into
the pipeline system, providing a low carbon energy resource for
customer use."
As one of the first local natural gas delivery companies to join
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in reducing emissions in
1993, SoCalGas is considered a leader in reducing methane
emissions. SoCalGas has implemented best management practices
resulting in the reduction of more than 800,000 metric tons of
carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Additionally,
SoCalGas' modernization program has upgraded pressure valves,
eliminated all cast-iron pipe and installed resilient plastic pipe
throughout half of its system.
"Reducing methane emissions is a shared responsibility," said
Haines. "SoCalGas will continue to work with scientists,
universities and organizations like EDF to advance these efforts.
We believe more should be done to encourage policies and
incentivize projects that lead to the capture of methane from
larger sources. Research shows bio-methane from biological sources
can be captured, refined and delivered via natural gas pipelines to
help reduce California's overall
carbon footprint."
For more information, or to view the map, visit socalgas.com and
search "methane map."
About Southern California Gas Co.
Southern California Gas Co. has been delivering clean, safe and
reliable natural gas to its customers for more than 140 years. It
is the nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, providing
service to 21.4 million consumers connected through 5.9 million
meters in more than 500 communities. The company's service
territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles throughout
central and Southern California,
from Visalia to the Mexican
border. Southern California Gas Co. is a regulated subsidiary of
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding
company based in San Diego.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Co.