gas lines

Back in 2007, PG&E hired a low-key outsider, Ed Salas, to help assess the risks it faced. Although he lacked engineering experience, Salas had a background evaluating corporate risks in the telecommunications industry. When he got to the utility, Salas soon realized the enormity of his task.

The utility involved in a series of natural gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts nearly a year ago says it has mostly completed the second phase of restoration. Columbia Gas said Thursday that some 875 customers that had heating equipment repaired rather than fully replaced following the Sept. 13 disaster now have brand new equipment.

Small earthquakes rattled already shaken residents overnight in the Mojave Desert community of Ridgecrest, where the cleanup continues from two major quakes.

Small earthquakes rattled already shaken residents overnight in the Mojave Desert community of Ridgecrest, where the cleanup continues from two major quakes.

A building was evacuated Thursday morning after a power line went down and caught fire in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Chelsea Police Department Chief Brian Kyes said the Spencer Lofts Complex near Dudley Street was evacuated as a precaution. Residents were asked to shelter in MBTA buses while crews responded to the scene.

A building was evacuated Thursday morning after a power line went down and caught fire in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Chelsea Police Department Chief Brian Kyes said the Spencer Lofts Complex near Dudley Street was evacuated as a precaution. Residents were asked to shelter in MBTA buses while crews responded to the scene.

Columbia Gas is on scene in Monson for a possible overpressurization of gas lines in the western Massachusetts town, but say, “there are no current safety concerns at this time.” Monson police said just after 5 p.m. that Columbia Gas had recently contacted them to report a possible overpressurization of gas lines. As a precaution, police said the gas company...

Massive flames from a gas explosion destroyed five buildings in San Francisco’s busy Geary Boulevard Wednesday afternoon — including a popular Chinese restuarant — and prompted evacuations within a one-mile radius of the fire zone but resulted in no injuries, firefighters said.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigation into gas explosions that rocked Massachusetts in September is on hold because of the federal government shutdown.

National Grid’s intense labor dispute, along with the state’s ban on non-emergency work, has created chaos for builders, struggling to complete projects without gas line connections. And their solution is making first responders very nervous.

National Grid’s intense labor dispute, along with the state’s ban on non-emergency work, has created chaos for builders, struggling to complete projects without gas line connections.

PG&E says it shook up management in light of what it calls “unacceptable” conduct by unspecified managers who regulators say exerted pressure on crews to falsify “tens of thousands” of gas safety inspections as being on time when they were late.

Swift and strong reaction came from Washington in the wake of the NBC10 Boston Investigators’ exclusive interview with a Columbia Gas whistleblower. Friday, a scathing two-page letter was sent to Columbia Gas demanding answers from the two U.S. senators representing Massachusetts. Sen. Ed Markey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent the letter within three days of the airing of the station’s...

A 42-year Columbia Gas employee repeatedly raised alarms about policy changes and staff changes to his critical gas-pressure monitoring department, warning the changes could lead to catastrophe. Bart Maderios gave an exclusive interview to the NBC10 Boston Investigators in which he said he warned Columbia Gas’s general manager, Frank Davis, and another senior employee, Dana Argo, that what he described...

Families in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts are facing a challenging Thanksgiving more than two months after natural gas explosions and fires leveled homes and left thousands without heat or hot water. More than 2,000 homes are still without gas service in Lawrence, North Andover and Andover after gas lines were overpressurized during an otherwise routine pipeline replacement project, triggering...

The company at the center of the natural gas explosions in Massachusetts in September says it has restored gas service to about 60 percent of affected homes, but nearly 1,760 families remain in temporary housing. The Sept. 13 blasts in Andover, Lawrence and North Andover destroyed or damaged more than 130 structures, injured dozens and left at least one person dead.

Paramount Ranch’s Western Town in Agoura Hills, which was recently destroyed by the Woolsey Fire, could get rebuilt through a fundraising effort announced Friday.

After an accidental overpressurization of gas lines left hundreds without gas service in Woburn, National Grid says it could be another three days until service is restored for everyone. But residents say they just want it all done safely, with what happened in the Merrimack Valley still top of mind.

Gas being shut off to homes in Woburn, Mass. due to over pressurization of gas lines.

For Luis Hernandez of Lawrence, Massachusetts, another day without heat and hot water following the natural gas emergency in the Merrimack Valley is another day that his family is suffering.