Willard S. Carey - Comments

Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (the Company) is a combination electric and gas company that supplies natural gas to 1.7 million customers in 264 municipalities within the state of New Jersey. There are 5.5 million people within the service franchise territory which represents 70% of the State's population. The Company's distribution system consists of 61 miles of transmission main and 17,500 miles of distribution mains and 16,234 miles of services. PSE&G has long supported the development and use of thermoplastic pipe in the transportation of natural gas. We have safely and successfully installed and operated these systems and remain active in research, development and industry initiatives in this area. The advent of materials such as PA-11 enable operators to further take advantage of critical benefits; the safe reduction of installation costs, long term savings in system maintenance and increased reliability gained over the installation of metallic piping systems. The Company supports the proposped revisions to 49 CFR 192.121 and 192.123 as presented in Notice 2 of the NPRM to allow the use of PA-11 piping in sizes up through 2" IPS at pressures between 100 and 200 psig, and supports the second petition for safe use of PA-11 using a design factor of 0.40. Should you have any questions regarding these comments do not hesitate to call me at 973.430.7833.