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Ohio Consumers’ Counsel makes recommendations for handling potential natural gas riser leaks

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Feb. 5, 2007 – The Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate, today will submit to state regulators recommendations for handling possible natural gas riser leaks. The OCC’s filing will be made at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), which is considering the appropriate measures on handling the repair or replacement of natural gas risers that could be prone to leaks in Ohio.

“The OCC continues to be concerned about the safety of consumers due to the failures of some risers,” said Janine Migden-Ostrander, Consumers’ Counsel. “In our filing we will make suggestions that increase safety for consumers with existing natural gas risers.”

Natural gas risers are the vertical portion of the service line that connects the pipeline to the customer’s meter.

The recommendations by the OCC include:

Requiring only factory assembled risers to be installed. The report issued by the PUCO staff indicated that many of the faulty risers were installed at the customer’s home during extreme cold weather conditions or when the riser was tightened improperly, causing seals to fail.
Requiring all at risk new service lines, replacements or excavations at the curb to incorporate an excess flow valve on the service line. This valve helps to determine if a major or catastrophic leak has occurred by measuring the amount of natural gas that flows through the service line. A major leak would cause the valve to shut off the service line and the build up of natural gas near the home would be avoided.
Requiring utilities that do not have records of risers to conduct an inventory and visual inspection of risers assembled on location to check for improper tightening. Several companies do not have records of what types of risers were installed in their service areas. By having this information, it would be easier for the company to pinpoint which risers needed inspection and possible replacement. A visual inspection of the riser would help to determine if the riser was properly installed.
Requiring leak tests be performed first in high risk areas. The data in the PUCO staff report indicates that many of the risers that failed were ones on service lines operating at higher pressures. By providing testing in the high risk areas, many of the leaks may be detected before causing increased safety issues for consumers.
Ordering natural gas utilities to take ownership of service lines. Service lines are currently owned by customers. If the local natural gas utilities take ownership of the service lines, they would be able to determine the correct course of action in a timelier manner when faced with a leak.
Prohibiting natural gas utilities from recovering additional costs for the survey, testing and reporting of riser failure. The OCC believes that the parties responsible for the operation, manufacture, and installation of the risers should be responsible for paying to perform inspections of the current risers and replace the failing risers.

The OCC is recommending that the PUCO require utilities to provide educational materials, at least twice a year, on the ways to detect a natural gas leak and the importance of reporting a leak to either the utility or the local fire department.

In November 2006, the PUCO staff issued a report on a statewide investigation into the installation, use and performance of natural gas service risers. The report showed that upon review of a sampling of natural gas risers throughout the major natural gas utilities’ service territories, there is some risk with certain risers under specific circumstances. For instance, risers with plastic connectors that had been exposed to severely cold weather during the installation process and risers that had been tightened improperly upon installation seem to be more likely to fail and cause a natural gas leak.

Plastic risers are typically located at residential homes, and metal risers are generally installed at business locations. Metal risers, if they fail, have been reported to have slower leaks that can be identified and fixed before they become an issue. The report estimates that approximately 34 percent of all plastic natural gas risers in Ohio are the types of risers that are prone to leaks and failures when installed incorrectly.

In its report, the PUCO staff recommended that the natural gas utilities conduct an inventory in their service area to determine what types of risers are installed. Also, the staff recommended that each utility provide additional training to all qualified installers to limit the number of incorrect installations that occur.

About the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel

The Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel (OCC), the residential utility consumer advocate, represents the interests of 4.5 million households in proceedings before state and federal regulators and in the courts. The state agency also educates consumers about electric, natural gas, telephone and water issues and resolves complaints from individuals. To receive utility information, brochures, schedule a presentation or file a utility complaint, residential consumers may call 1-877-PICKOCC (1-877-742-5622) toll free in Ohio or visit the OCC Web site at www.pickocc.org.