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Log inPUC considers $2 million fine for gas utility
PUC considers $2 million fine for gas utility
by Outspoken on Sat Oct 04, 2008 6:22 am
PUC considers $2 million fine for gas utility
The proposed penalty against Northern Utilities involves alleged safety violations in nine incidents, including two house explosions.
By RAY ROUTHIER
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
The Maine Public Utilities Commission is considering fining Northern Utilities $2 million for possible violations of safety regulations in nine incidents during the past two years, including house explosions in Portland and South Portland and gas leaks in Saco and Cape Elizabeth.
PUC commissioners conducted a hearing Friday on a $2 million settlement agreement that was negotiated by PUC staff and Northern Utilities, which serves about 25,000 natural gas customers in southern Maine. The agreement does not include an admission of fault by Northern Utilities, but does stipulate that the utility would make $1.2 million worth of safety improvements to its delivery systems and pay an $800,000 administrative penalty to the PUC.
The agreement, which states that the fine should be paid at "shareholder expense," will not take effect unless the PUC commissioners approve it. They also could ask PUC staffers to rework the agreement.
The commissioners ended their hearing Friday without ruling on the deal; a decision is expected next week.
"The commission has a paramount duty to enforce the safe operation of local natural gas distribution systems in Maine," PUC Chairman Sharon M. Reishus said in a statement. "We look forward to the completion of this case and making sure that regulated utilities continue to safely deliver services to our homes."
Patricia M. French, lead counsel for Northern Utilities on the agreement, could not be reached for comment Friday.
In each incident cited in the agreement, Northern Utilities was given a "notice of probable violation." Those were then examined by PUC staff members, who worked with the company to come up with the proposed agreement. It was signed by Carol MacLennan, prosecutorial staff attorney for the PUC, and Stephen H. Bryant, president of Northern Utilities, a subsidiary of Bay State Gas Co. of Massachusetts.
Not all of the nine incidents related to the agreement resulted in damage to property. Some were simply possible violations of emergency or operating procedures.
At least four of the incidents, however, made dramatic headlines in Maine.
In April 2007, an explosion destroyed a house on Salem Street in Portland's West End. No one was in the house at the time. A possible violation alleged by the PUC is that Northern Utilities did not fully investigate the incident, including the role that its gas line might have played.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=213875&ac=PHnws
The proposed penalty against Northern Utilities involves alleged safety violations in nine incidents, including two house explosions.
By RAY ROUTHIER
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
The Maine Public Utilities Commission is considering fining Northern Utilities $2 million for possible violations of safety regulations in nine incidents during the past two years, including house explosions in Portland and South Portland and gas leaks in Saco and Cape Elizabeth.
PUC commissioners conducted a hearing Friday on a $2 million settlement agreement that was negotiated by PUC staff and Northern Utilities, which serves about 25,000 natural gas customers in southern Maine. The agreement does not include an admission of fault by Northern Utilities, but does stipulate that the utility would make $1.2 million worth of safety improvements to its delivery systems and pay an $800,000 administrative penalty to the PUC.
The agreement, which states that the fine should be paid at "shareholder expense," will not take effect unless the PUC commissioners approve it. They also could ask PUC staffers to rework the agreement.
The commissioners ended their hearing Friday without ruling on the deal; a decision is expected next week.
"The commission has a paramount duty to enforce the safe operation of local natural gas distribution systems in Maine," PUC Chairman Sharon M. Reishus said in a statement. "We look forward to the completion of this case and making sure that regulated utilities continue to safely deliver services to our homes."
Patricia M. French, lead counsel for Northern Utilities on the agreement, could not be reached for comment Friday.
In each incident cited in the agreement, Northern Utilities was given a "notice of probable violation." Those were then examined by PUC staff members, who worked with the company to come up with the proposed agreement. It was signed by Carol MacLennan, prosecutorial staff attorney for the PUC, and Stephen H. Bryant, president of Northern Utilities, a subsidiary of Bay State Gas Co. of Massachusetts.
Not all of the nine incidents related to the agreement resulted in damage to property. Some were simply possible violations of emergency or operating procedures.
At least four of the incidents, however, made dramatic headlines in Maine.
In April 2007, an explosion destroyed a house on Salem Street in Portland's West End. No one was in the house at the time. A possible violation alleged by the PUC is that Northern Utilities did not fully investigate the incident, including the role that its gas line might have played.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=213875&ac=PHnws
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
