The state Public Utility Commission will publish a proposed settlement between Peoples Natural Gas Company and homeowners in West Wheatfield Township, seeking public comment and allowing parties not currently listed in the settlement to petition to join it.
The settlement concerns damages for an over-pressurization incident in Robinson in April of 2020. The PUC’s independent Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement found that three Peoples employees conducting an annual inspection on a regulator serving the area failed to follow company procedures, that their training may not have been sufficient, and that the design of the system contributed to the damage. A flareup caused by the over-pressured regulator resulted in the gas company replacing 11 furnaces, 70 water heaters, a stove, 194 furnace valves, and 135 water tank valves. It also had to replace approximately 4,552 feet of steel pipe and 133 service lines and it conducted leak surveys for eight weeks until all leaking gas lines were replaced.
The settlement calls for Peoples to pay a $250,000 civil penalty and bars the company from seeking to recover $305,206 in repair expenses from its customers through future rate increases. Peoples must also review all regulator stations in its system within 30 days of the final approval of the settlement , change any that are at risk, and improve procedures and training.
Once the settlement is published in The Pennsylvania Review, the public will have 25 days to make comment.
