Refinery Outages Thu, 23 Mar 2000, 10:00pm EST

Natural Gas Update: PG&E Says Explosion Won't Affect Service

San Antonio, Texas, March 23 (Bloomberg Energy) -- An explosion yesterday on PG&E Gas Transmission-Texas' pipeline near San Antonio isn't expected to affect natural gas deliveries to the city, the company said.

PG&E has other pipelines as part of its Texas system capable of bringing gas into the city, a company spokeswoman said. The cause of the explosion is under investigation, she said.

The pipeline exploded and gas burst into flames near Highway 181, 8 miles south of San Antonio at 2:15 p.m. local time yesterday, closing the highway. The fire was put out by about 3 p.m. and no one was injured, the spokeswoman said.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/news2.cgi?T=energy_refout.ht&s=81508899

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 23, 2000

Answers

I've kept loose track, and there has been an average of seven gas line explosions a week since the first of the year. Now, the last two weeks, the pace seems to have picked up a bit, to about twelve a week.

Meaning?

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), March 24, 2000.

Fred .... I would hadzard a guess that the doo-hicky that stores all those problems on the microchips ( with loops that are full of incorrect readings ) from incorrect dates/pressure readings are shuting down valves in the pipe unexpectedly , resulting in sudden increases in pressure . If the pressure sensors are also filled up , no report of the problem gets read at central headquaters computers ( which could also have their own probs.) , resulting in an explosion . NOTHING will be admitted until one occurs in an area where dozens are killed/fried in the fireball , THEN , MAYBE the company/press/LAWYERS will get the answers IN COURT . Notice I said maybe ! Where their is MONEY involved , it WILL be covered up ... FOREVER ! It's the way things (don't) work NOW . The " fix " is in ; at the highest levels . Don't expect an different for a LONG TIME !!! Eagle

-- Hal Walker (e999eagle@freewwweb.com), March 26, 2000.