Jul 9, 2019   SOURCE: BusinessWire

After Ridgecrest Quakes, PG&E Urges Customers to Call for All Gas Service Requests Including Safety Inspections and Gas Relights

In the aftermath of two major earthquakes and multiple aftershocks in the Mojave Desert since July 4, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is urging customers in Kern and San Bernardino Counties who may be without gas service to call our customer service line at 1-800-743-5000.

For safety reasons, customers who may have shut off gas at their main gas valve as a precaution or who may have lost gas service as a result of the earthquakes should not attempt to turn on their gas service at the meter. Instead, customers should contact PG&E to perform a safety inspection before gas service is restored and before appliance pilots are lit.

Mel Christopher, vice president, Gas Operations, is in Ridgecrest and Trona today to meet with PG&E crews and customers. He reinforced the importance of letting PG&E handle any gas-related issues. “Safety is our highest responsibility. Gas crews from across our service area have arrived in the Ridgecrest and Trona areas to help with assessments, repairs and restoration. For safety reasons, it’s really important for our customers to let PG&E’s gas personnel help with any gas service issues.”

PG&E crews are nearly complete with field assessments and have inspected all fault line crossings impacting the two main gas transmission lines servicing both the Ridgecrest and Trona communities. Both lines had some minor displacements, but there are no immediate safety concerns. While there may be some sections that need to be replaced, safety inspections have determined that there are no immediate concerns.

PG&E is utilizing its state-of-the-art Picarro gas leak-detection technology as an added safety resource. The vehicle-mounted, leak-detection technology is 1,000 times more sensitive than traditional detection equipment, allowing the company to improve safety by quickly identifying natural gas leaks. The vehicles completed work in Ridgecrest on Sunday and expect to complete assessments in Trona today.

PG&E crews are actively addressing gas leaks that are found during the surveys.

PG&E also used Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), as part of its aerial inspections of the gas infrastructure in the region. LiDAR is a cutting-edge mapping and land surveying technology that sends and receives laser signals to make three dimensional scans of a site.

PG&E provides gas service to approximately 13,000 customers in the region and is not the electric provider to these communities.

PG&E’s Ridgecrest customer service office was impacted by the earthquakes and remains closed until the proper safety inspections and repairs can be completed. In the interim, a PG&E mobile command unit will be located in the parking lot of the center at 530 South China Lake Boulevard. PG&E representatives will be on hand from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and as always customers can seek assistance by calling 1-800-743-5000.

Customer Disconnection Pause

Effective July 5, 2019, PG&E has implemented a service disconnection moratorium in areas impacted by the earthquakes. This means that we will not disconnect service or dispatch any associated disconnection notifications as a result of not receiving payment in the cities of Inyokern and Ridgecrest while this moratorium is in effect.

Customers will be notified once the disconnect moratorium has been lifted or if any additional cities are impacted.

Natural Gas and Earthquake Safety Tips

If you smell gas, get everyone outside immediately to a location upwind where you no longer can smell natural gas, and call 911 immediately, then call PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.

Do not use electrical switches, appliances or telephones, because sparks can ignite gas. Do not check for a gas leak with a match or an open flame.

To report a gas outage, please call 1-800-743-5002. When you call, tell us if you’d like to receive restoration updates by text or automated call.

For additional earthquake safety information, please visit our website: Be prepared for an earthquake

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with approximately 23,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and pge.com/news.