
PG&E Contains Gas Leak That Caused San Francisco Explosion - Impossible
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-06/firefighters-battle-possible-gas-explosion-in-san-francisco
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wahern
Naming PG&E in the headline is sensationalistic. The article says, "Workers
may have struck the distribution pipeline while installing fiber-optic
equipment beneath the street". You can see the excavator from the aerial
footage! And news reports directly discuss the construction workers. By
contrast, there's absolutely zero evidence PG&E has anything to do with it
except nominally owning the pipe.

~~~
mc32
And the media wonder why they have a credibility problem. It's the most basic
type of reporting. News events. Not complicated policy issues or complex
expert subject. Something occurred on the street and what do they do? They try
to pile on the narrative that PG&E is bad. They supposedly caused the Tubbs
fire, but according to CalFire[1] apparently (at least at this stage of the
investigation) caused by non-PG&E power equipment (no word on Paradise, but
that will take a while).

[1][https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/cal-fire-private-
equipment-n...](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/cal-fire-private-equipment-
not-pge-at-fault-for-deadly-tubbs-fire.html)

~~~
el_benhameen
I originally agreed that the headline was sensationalist, but then I saw that
it was from Bloomberg and that PG&E’s stock was down after hours. In this
case, I think that considering the existing “PG&E is bad” narrative is
legitimate when writing the headline. Bloomberg’s product is market-moving
information, and whether or not this accident was PG&E’s fault, it did move
markets.

~~~
mc32
Isn't that a consequence of the public portrayal (aided by the media) that
PG&E is bad? Have you seen retractions regarding the Tubbs fire, if so, have
they been commensurate?

~~~
dekhn
Well, a bit more relevant:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bruno_pipeline_explosion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bruno_pipeline_explosion)

"It was revealed that PG&E had done pipeline replacement work on Line 132
along parts of the San Andreas Fault zone, near this area, to reduce the
likelihood of the pipeline failing from an earthquake. However, the
replacement was stopped short of the area that failed in 2010.[48]

On January 13, 2012, an independent audit from the State of California issued
a report stating that PG&E had illegally diverted over $100 million from a
fund used for safety operations, and instead used it for executive
compensation and bonuses.[49]"

So basically, if there's a gas-related fire, regardless of cause, you can
point at PG&E and say "deferred maintainence".

~~~
mc32
PG&E is guilty of many sins, but it's not the business of news organizations
to make cavalier assumptions as to cause. They are not private individuals
spouting unfounded opinions, they are news organizations who should vet their
news and publish responsibly.

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Robotbeat
It's insane how we just accept regular natural gas explosions as a thing, but
we over-react at even the hint of non-lethal nuclear contamination.

~~~
randomacct3847
Huh? I didn’t realize as a society we had “accepted natural gas explosions” as
normal. The fact that this story even attracted national news tells me
otherwise.

~~~
dmoy
I think GP means we aren't now all calling to ban natural gas.

~~~
snazz
Most of us in more northern locales wouldn’t be too happy if we had to get new
furnaces and stoves, but we don’t care too much where our grid electricity
comes from since we aren’t personally invested in it.

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reustle
> PG&E Corp. has contained a natural gas leak from a pipe that exploded on
> Wednesday along a major thoroughfare in San Francisco, engulfing in flames a
> stretch known for its bars and restaurants.

I am the only one slightly annoyed with this writing style? I often see things
like this, an it feels they want to be a bit more sensationalist but getting
'bars and restaurants' as close to the 'engulfing in flames' phrase as
possible. This seems to trigger me as a reader to subconsciously tie the two
together (engulfing bars and restaurants in flames) when that's not actually
the case. Is there a term for this method of writing?

~~~
floatingatoll
Inflammatory.

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floatingatoll
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents_in_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents_in_the_United_States_in_2018)

For context, “workers strike pipeline and cause explosion” is so common that
there’s annually-divided lists on Wikipedia.

However, this uncovers a critical flaw in PG&E’s deployment: the nearest
automated shutoff valve feeds the entire city, because – presumably to skimp
on spending – no closer shutoff valve existed. It took them hours to close 7
pipes before they ceased the flow of fuel to the fire.

PG&E may not be at fault for causing the strike, but they are at fault for the
bad design that fed the fire afterwards.

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mruts
Well, PG&E is declaring bankruptcy, so I guess all the creditors should
just... stand in line? Not very many assets compared to the liabilities.

Of course, bankruptcy is probably the best way to resolve this, so every
creditor can be paid his fair share (and by fair share I mean maybe 1% of what
they are owed). But at least everyone is going to get paid _something_ versus
a majority being paid nothing.

