A cost-effective GIS alternative for small pipeline operating companies
Jane Heineman
Senior Engineering Assistant, PPL Interstate Energy Company
214 Shoemaker Rd, Pottstown, PA 19464
Telephone: 610-327-5343
Fax: (610) 327-5341
Email: jheineman@ppliec.com
John F. Dirkman, P.E.
Project Manager, James W. Sewall Company
147 Center St; P.O. Box 433
Old Town, Maine 04468
Telephone: 207-827-4456
Fax: 207-827-3641
Email: john.dirkman@jws.com
Abstract
Many smaller pipeline operating companies see the benefits of implementing a GIS to
organize pipeline data, but cannot justify the cost of a large-scale AM/FM/GIS system.
PPL Interstate Energy Company is a smaller pipeline company that worked with GIS firm
James W. Sewall Company to implement a straightforward GIS solution that leverages
existing technology investments. The presenters will discuss the process used to acquire
landbase data, to organize existing pipeline data from a variety of paper-based and digital
sources, and to integrate these data sets. We will also explore the functionality and benefits
of the resultant geographic information system.
Company background
PPL interstate energy company
PPL Interstate Energy Company (PPL IEC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of PPL
Corporation based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Interstate Energy Company pipeline was
built in 1974 for the sole purpose of supplying economical fuel for electric power generation
at power plants located in Pennsylvania and western New Jersey.
The pipeline transports No. 6 fuel oil, No. 2 fuel oil and natural gas to PPL’s Martins Creek
Power Plant located on the western bank of the Delaware River. The 84-mile, 18-inch-diameter
insulated pipeline starts at the Marcus Hook Pump Station adjacent to dock and
storage facilities owned by Sun Oil Company, south of Philadelphia, and ends at the 1.9
million barrel oil storage terminal adjacent to the PPL Corporation power plant at Martins
Creek, north of Easton, Pennsylvania.
Connected to PPL IEC’s 18” pipeline are the Gilbert Terminal and an 8” lateral pipeline
which are owned by Reliant. The 380,000 barrel oil storage terminal is the receiving point for
Reliant’s shipments of No. 2 fuel oil. The lateral runs east 10 miles from the terminal to
Reliant’s generating station in Holland, New Jersey. PPL IEC operates and maintains the
terminal and lateral under an agreement with Reliant.
Natural gas is delivered to the PPL Corporation power plant at Martins Creek. The 18”
diameter pipeline is connected to Texas Eastern Transmission’s pipelines near Quakertown,
Pennsylvania, and to Columbia Transmission’s pipeline near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The administrative and maintenance center in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, is the headquarters
for all operations and maintenance activity associated with the pipeline and terminals.
James W. Sewall company
James W. Sewall Company (Sewall), established in 1880, provides full-service pipeline
mapping, data conversion, and application development services to the oil and gas pipeline
industry. Services include aerial photography, surveying and GPS, aerial and close-range
photogrammetry, GIS implementation, forestry, and engineering.
Prior data and methods
Data
For many years, PPL IEC has maintained alignment sheets in a CAD environment. These
sheets contained landbase and pipeline data with enlarged aerial images acquired in the 1980s
as backdrops.
In addition, PPL IEC maintained separate Microsoft Excel files containing bends and
foreign crossings. Right-of-way data existed in a separate Microsoft Access database. As a
result, updates required time-consuming manual changes to each affected alignment sheet
area.
Typical PPL IEC alignment sheet
Methods
Because alignment sheets were manually drafted, they had no connection to the separate data
files. Changes to these files had to be manually completed.
