Utility regulators file complaint against natural gas company in fatal 2021 blast in Pennsylvania

TYRONE, Pa. (AP) — State utility regulators have filed a complaint against a natural gas provider alleging safety violations in connection with an explosion in a central Pennsylvania borough that killed one person and injured several others three years ago.

The 22-count complaint filed by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission against Peoples Natural Gas Co. alleges that in responding to the report of a gas leak, the company didn’t shut off the gas supply, call emergency personnel or evacuate nearby homes before the July 2021 blast in Tyrone, The (Altoona) Mirror reported.

The blast killed 83-year-old Anna Hunsicker and destroyed her home, also damaging two other residences. Several other people were taken to hospitals, including a utility worker who had been in the basement of the home.

The leak turned out to have been caused by a contractor’s drill piercing a main, and the blast happened 40 minutes after a worker arrived and 18 minutes after he told a supervisor there had been “a serious incident involving suspected bore or missile damage,” according to the complaint.

The commission is recommending an $800,000 fine and changes in procedures to improve response to future reports of leaking gas.

Peoples, which has 20 days to respond, said Friday it was reviewing the complaint but stressed safety as its top priority and a commitment toward working with the commission “toward our shared goal of enhancing the safety of our communities and the distribution systems that serve them.”

“This explosion was caused by a third-party contractor striking a Peoples’ pipeline with a horizontal drill while installing a water service line perpendicular to our line for the borough of Tyrone,” the company said in an emailed statement, the newspaper reported.