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Peoples Natural Gas will pay $250,000 in a civil penalty relating to a 2020 overpressure incident in Indiana County that led to damage in customers homes and to the Pittsburgh-based utility's equipment.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 5-0 on Thursday to approve the settlement from the incident on April 29, 2020, in Robinson, Indiana County. PUC said in a statement that its investigation unit found failures to follow company procedures and potential design flaws in a regulator station.
The overpressure incident caused the utility to replace 11 furnaces, 70 water heaters, a range, 194 furnace valves and 135 water tank valves as well as 4,552 feet of steel pipe and 133 service lines, according to PUC. The replacements cost an additional $305,000.
PUC will also have to review regulator stations and put into place procedure and training to prevent future overpressure incidents.
"The safety of our customers, employees and communities we serve is our top priority," Peoples said in a statement. "We are committed to following the settlement agreement reached with the PUC. The actions we have taken in response to this incident and in reaching a settlement enhance safety for our customers."