It has been nearly a year since the natural-gas leak was stopped at Aliso Canyon, and in that time, we at the Southern California Gas Co. have worked hard to address concerns expressed by communities near the facility.
Today, our technicians are monitoring every well around the clock, we’ve installed a network of methane monitors along the facility’s border with the community, and we are using industry-leading technology and practices in our operations.
Aliso Canyon is safe, and it is time to resume injections.
I understand that some members of the community are concerned about the status of the root-cause analysis, and I appreciate that some in the Legislature are trying to address those concerns. However, Senate Bill 57, a bill introduced by California state Sen. Henry Stern, D-Calabasas, that would prevent injections from resuming until the root-cause analysis is completed, is unnecessary.
According to a federal report, the leak occurred in the outer casing of the SS-25 well. Regardless of what the root cause analysis finds, the state’s comprehensive safety review has already demonstrated that the outer casings of every well approved for use are safe.
Moreover, under new regulations, gas will no longer flow through the outer casing. Gas will only flow through newly installed and pressure-tested, inner steel tubing. The outer casing will now serve only as a secondary layer of protection.
Only after I was fully confident the needed testing was complete and new monitoring technology installed did I approve submission of our Nov. 1 request to resume injections. The field is safe.
While well intentioned, SB57 does not enhance safety at Aliso Canyon. Instead, it needlessly puts more than 20 million people and thousands of businesses and critical facilities at risk of natural-gas and electricity-service interruptions.
How do we know Aliso Canyon is needed? In three consecutive technical assessments — the most recent of which was released on Jan. 17 by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) — state agencies have determined that Aliso Canyon is necessary to meet the region’s natural-gas and electricity needs.
But it’s not only reports from experts that tell us we need Aliso Canyon.
During the cold weather in January, we experienced the highest demand on our system so far this winter. Without withdrawals from Aliso Canyon on those days, the demand on our system could have resulted in curtailments to large customers, including power plants, refineries, universities, hospitals, manufacturers and other fundamental services. The rapid changes in customer demand on Jan. 24 and 25 are examples of the sudden hourly peaks we experience with changes in the weather.
The CPUC’s Jan. 17 report determined that additional natural gas supplies at Aliso Canyon are needed to address safety and reliability concerns. Specifically, the report states that 29.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) is necessary and that SoCalGas needs to provide .839 Bcf per day (Bcfd) of production to meet winter demand and .906 Bcfd for summer demand.
Based on our operational capabilities and experience, it will take approximately two months to reach the inventory necessary to meet summer demand. Therefore, it is crucial to begin replenishing the supply of natural gas in the field as soon as feasible to provide for energy reliability throughout the region.
It is our obligation to provide safe and reliable service to all our customers, and we take that obligation seriously. For the reasons discussed here, we oppose SB57. To help meet the region’s energy needs, it’s time to resume injection operations.
Bret Lane is president and chief operating officer of the Southern California Gas Co.
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