- Work orders given to crews contracted by NiSource’s (NI -1.7%) Columbia Gas unit for replacing aging natural gas pipes are linked to last month's explosions in Massachusetts that killed one person and injured 21, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
- The crews were removing a cast-iron distribution main - including a section of pipe containing sensors needed to regulate pressure in the system - and installing a plastic main when the explosions began, according to the report, which did not reach a conclusion on the cause of the blasts that are still under investigation.
- The work package developed by Columbia Gas “did not account for the location of the sensing lines or require their relocation to ensure the regulators were sensing actual system pressure,” the NTSB report says.