PG&E Management Staff (left to right) Ben Almario, Libby O’Connell, David Irwin, Jonathan Marshsall, Sumeet Singh and Fiona Chan. INQUIRER.net PHOTO
SAN CARLOS, California — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. recently briefed ethnic media representatives on the status of its safety measures and upgrades on facilities, energy efficiency, electric and gas reliability, as well as tips on rebates.
Sumeet Singh, vice president for Gas Operations welcomed the media, highlighting the company’s updated systems technology to enhance and streamline operations, pipelines and customer safety.
Jonathan Marshall, chief of corporate relations spoke about the safety initiatives done in the past decade, especially in the past couple of years. As a result of the fatal San Bruno conflagration, there has been an aggressive and comprehensive safety enhancement program to strength-test more than 500 miles of transmission pipelines. Nearly a hundred miles of transmission pipelines have been replaced, he said, adding that a hundred miles of distribution piping within the system are being replaced on an annual basis.
On electric safety and reliability, Ben Almario, director of Electric Operations, enumerated precautions and electric tips:
• Make sure electric outlets use ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection on all electrical outlets, particularly those near water sources such as bathroom and kitchens;
• Keep balloons, kites and toys like remote control aircraft away from overhead electric lines. Never attempt to retrieve any object that is caught in a power line.
• When celebrating any occasion with helium filled metallic balloons, make sure they are secured to a weight that is heavy enough to prevent from floating away.
• To prevent the risk of electric shock, avoid overloading electrical outlets, power strips and extension cords with too many devices and appliances. For more safety measures, visit the PG&E website http://www.pge.com/safety/gaselectricsafety/
PG&E recently offered a new clean energy program that will give electric customers an opportunity to support 100 percent renewable energy for an average of a few dollars a month.
PG&E proposed the “Green Option” in response to requests from customers, elected officials and the environmental community for more ways to promote renewable energy.
Marshall said that PG&E is already one of the largest suppliers of renewable energy in the country. More than 50 percent of its electricity comes from sources that are renewable or free of greenhouse gas emissions.
PG&E foundation has donated a total of $16 million on education and environment programs, and community vitality programs such as Solar Habitat that works with Habitat for Humanity. It also has been a sponsor of Plaridel Awards, excellence in Filipino American journalism, a project of the Philippine American Press Club.
New technology on detecting heat was demonstrated by David Irwin, supervisor, Electric Operations. The gadget helps their employees identify sources of heat that may cause electrical hazards.
To view more safety tips and rebates, visit www.pge.com To see what is going on in your local community visit http://pgeseeourprogress.com
