UniSource’s gas teams earned a perfect score on this year’s state safety audit, highlighting our commitment to deliver secure, reliable energy to warm homes and businesses throughout Arizona.
The state Office of Pipeline Safety reported zero findings during an exhaustive audit of records and gas facilities completed earlier this year. The division of the Arizona Corporation Commission annually examines thousands of records and conducts site visits in all five counties where UniSource provides natural gas service.
For customers, the perfect audit recognizes the superb safety of our pipelines and equipment to deliver natural gas. It also demonstrates our employees’ diligence in ensuring that customers can rely on our safe, reliable natural gas service for warmth, water heating and other household uses.
“The fact that we had a clean audit just shows that we’re doing the right thing,” said Curtis Asselstine, Manager of Gas Engineering and Technical Services.
UniSource maintains more than 3,200 miles of mainline and 156,000 service lines in our service area, which includes 37 communities in Southern and Northern Arizona.
Our last perfect full pipeline safety audit was in 2012. Inspectors also reported zero findings in 2020 in an audit modified by pandemic restrictions. That year’s audit required an extensive effort to submit documents and perform field inspections, said Duncan Jakes, Manager of Gas Operations.
To prepare for the annual audit, employees conducted their own internal audits, combing through training, maintenance, equipment and other records to make sure the work was completed and deadlines were met.
“It’s a whole company effort,” Jakes said.
At each location, state officials spent three days in the office reviewing records and two days in the field, visiting between 50-80 locations each, Asselstine said. The findings were released over the summer.
Typically, state auditors will report findings, like incorrect or missing dates on records or a low cathodic protection reading in the field. When these items are identified, the company is required to submit an official response with corrective actions to the Arizona Office of Pipeline Safety, Asselstine said.
“I think it really shows the meticulous attention to detail and the fact that people were taking the time and understanding the importance of being diligent in the work we do,” Asselstine said. “When you have a clean audit like this, it’s proof that we all really care about each job.”
