Kansas commissioners disagree on gas pipeline replacement

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written by Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -

A disagreement about who should take on the financial burden of replacing miles of dilapidated Kansas gas pipeline is dividing three commissioners on the state's utility regulatory agency.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Shari Feist-Albrecht, Pat Apple and Jay Emler discussed at a Kansas Corporation Commission meeting last week their stances on the investigation they opened in March 2015.

The investigation is meant to try and accelerate the replacement of obsolete materials in the state's natural gas pipeline, which could soon become a public safety risk.

Feist-Albrecht wants to move ahead with a proposal that sets up a five-year pilot program addressing the issue. But Emler and Apple disagree, saying they're hesitant to reward a company "for not doing their job and taking it out on the ratepayers."

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