Regulators investigate Black Hills Energy’s high number of pipeline safety violations
The Iowa Utilities Commission is evaluating potential penalties and corrective action for Black Hills Energy following a hearing Thursday on an investigation into the gas company’s safety and management practices in Iowa.
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Camille Koons, the interim director for Black Hills Energy Iowa, said while the number of safety violations is high, the “potential of the occurrences is not always.”
Koons said the rate of safety violations is higher in a recent period and said the company has a “dedicated corrective action plan” to address the commission’s concerns.
Black Hills Energy representatives acknowledged that the rate of safety violations is high and said the company has a “dedicated corrective action plan” to address the commission’s concerns.
In July 2023, Iowa filed an investigation into Black Hills’ Pipeline Safety in July that had more than 100 defective pipeline incidents in 2023. Iowa said the company has historically longer correction times than the other two gas companies in Iowa. Iowa also found that Black Hills has had significantly more correction times for safety violations than the other gas companies.
As Iowa regulators assessed assessment data with other Iowa companies, it “became increasingly concerning” about the rate of pipeline safety violations than the other companies.
(Black Hills Energy) The Iowa Utilities Commission is investigating a high volume of safety violations from Black Hills Energy.
Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch
Camille Koons, Black Hills Energy’s interim director, said the issue was not solely due to the company’s infrastructure.
In its July 2023 filing, it said the company cited a 90-day deadline for pipeline safety incidents, it said that “failure of those failures to be timely” and that “significant consequences to the company’s operations” to meet the deadline.
In its filing to Iowa, Black Hills Energy stated pipeline incidents related to infrastructure, maintenance, equipment malfunction or failure to verify, according to Black Hills’ filing.
In comparison to Iowa’s other two gas companies, Black Hills has had a longer time to correct its violations from 2018 to 2023. While Liberty, Alliant Energy and Black Hills had a time to correct pipeline incidents of about 30 days, Black Hills’ correction time was 90 days.
Black Hills also reported in its filing to Iowa that pipeline correction times were longer compared to other utilities in Iowa, but Black Hills stated that its correction times were “not necessarily” a result of the company’s operations.
Koons said the company’s corrective actions are to “fully implement” its operations plan, to “addressing deficiencies in its infrastructure,” and “improving the rate of pipeline”.
“We fully expect to meet our obligations to our customers, our communities and the commission,” Koons said in her closing.
“We also expect to address the commission’s concerns and improve our operations,” she said.
Zane Gentry, the state director of Black Hills Energy Iowa operations, said safety is the “highest priority” at the company.
“We fully expect to meet our obligations to our customers, our communities and the commission, and we also expect to address the commission’s concerns and improve our operations,” Gentry said in the closing.
Black Hills Energy’s Iowa Pipeline Safety Department will review the testimony and the final decisions to implement all necessary pipeline safety and operational actions in the future.
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