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Yankee Gas defends consolidated control‑room plan, cites PHMSA guidance and safety benefits
Summary
Company witnesses said consolidation of control rooms and maintaining backup facilities are required by pipeline safety planning and provide safety benefits, citing PHMSA guidance. Witnesses described the consolidated control room as improving staffing flexibility and human‑machine interface for system oversight.
Company witnesses told Public Utilities Regulatory Authority commissioners that the proposed consolidated control‑room arrangement for Eversource operating companies provides operational and safety benefits and aligns with federal pipeline safety expectations.
Why it matters: Control rooms oversee system operations 24/7. Witnesses said the consolidation improves staffing coverage and the human‑machine interface, which has public‑safety implications for odor calls, emergency response and system monitoring.
Julia Day, director of gas system engineering for Eversource Energy Service Company, said control rooms "are critically important for the safety of our system" and that the company must maintain control room management policies similar to air‑traffic operations. She added that the consolidation improves available staffing and that dedicated backup control rooms are needed as contingency locations if primary sites are unavailable. Day cited PHMSA regulations and emphasized the public benefit of sufficient operator staffing and fatigue management.
Witnesses also noted operational lessons from the COVID period in which distributed facilities provided resilience. Day said the consolidated design will allow additional operators to be immediately available across the operating companies to manage incidents and improve the oversight of simultaneous projects.
Ending: The panel accepted the testimony and adopted the late‑filed PBR and environmental panels' exhibits; no party reserved cross on these witnesses and the authority excused the panel after confirming no objections.
