SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric says it will comply with a judge's order and shut down a natural gas pipeline after safety issues were raised. The PG&E unit said it believes the pipeline is safe despite an engineer's email questioning the safety of the 83-year-old line's welds. PG&E said it could take until Tuesday to safely shut down the line and seamlessly switch its customers to another line.
A judge ordered the line shut down after San Carlos city officials discovered the email and declared a "state of emergency." The email said PG&E's records incorrectly show the line containing a newer, more reliable weld than it actually has. PG&E said state-of-the-art tests show the line is safe and that it was shutting the line down only because of the court order.