HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania regulators are fining a utility the maximum $500,000 for a 2011 natural gas explosion that killed five people in Allentown.
The Public Utility Commission on Thursday approved a settlement that also requires UGI Corp. to replace all its cast iron pipelines within 14 years and to enhance its testing and monitoring programs.
The cause of the February 2011 explosion was traced to a crack in a cast iron gas main.
Commission Chairman Robert Powelson and Vice Chairman John Coleman say the case marked the eighth time in four years that the panel has dealt with alleged gas-safety violations by a UGI-owned distribution utility. They called that record "downright alarming."
A spokesman says UGI, Pennsylvania's largest gas utility, plans to issue a statement later Thursday.
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