Kern River Gas Transmission Co. operates 1,680 miles of 36- and 42-inch steel pipe, and is known industrywide for operating an efficient, reliable system, President Micheal Dunn explains.

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Kern River Gas Transmission Co. has earned industrywide recognition for operating one of the most-efficient natural gas pipelines today, President Micheal Dunn says. For a company operating 1,680 miles of 36- and 42-inch steel pipe and 11 compressor stations, this is no easy feat. In 2005 and 2006, Foster Financial Reports rated Kern River Gas No. 2 in the industry in operational efficiency, and the ranking improved to No. 1 in 2007.

The company earned this distinction based on a number of elements, including maintenance costs, throughput and overall operating efficiency. “This is an important ranking for us, because it tells our customers and shippers they are getting a very good value for their dollar,” Dunn explains.

Kern River Gas also ranked in the top 10 percent in Mastio & Co.’s 2007 Natural Gas Pipeline Customer Satisfaction Survey, it adds. “We were very pleased, because we always try to be in the top 10 percent, and we achieved our goal,” Dunn says.

Reliable Service
The Salt Lake City-based firm transports natural gas from southwestern Wyoming through Utah and Nevada to Southern California. Kern River Gas operates as one of the largest transporters of natural gas into the state of California.

The firm constructed its original mainline in 1991 and, following a series of expansions, has grown to a capacity of more than 1.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. The firm’s pipeline is carefully monitored and centrally controlled.

“We utilize one of the most sophisticated computer networks in the natural gas transportation industry,” Dunn says. “The fully automated real-time pipeline operates from the gas control center in Salt Lake City. Kern River’s gas controllers can see exactly what is flowing through the pipeline at the exact time it is flowing.”

Continuous monitoring has helped earn the company a reputation for reliability. “We very rarely have service curtailments,” Dunn explains. “We’re known to be a very reliable pipeline, but we’re also very lucky to have a fairly new pipeline.”

Training Efforts
Employees throughout the company can take part in ongoing training programs and enjoy many opportunities for professional development, technical training and job enhancement. The company has always focused on maintaining the skills of its existing work force. “We ensure we have the proper training and development programs in place,” Dunn explains.

Kern River Gas tailors its training program to employees’ needs. “Human resources conducts an annual training needs analysis, which includes reviewing the employees’ performance reviews and development plans to establish a training curriculum,” Dunn explains. “We are also embarking on an enhanced new employee orientation program to ensure everybody is properly trained from the beginning.”

Training and opportunities for professional development are extremely important today as companies continue to fight for a skilled work force. According to Dunn, many companies throughout the industry have seen higher turnover rates in recent years, and Kern River Gas is no exception. However, the firm’s tight-knit, small-company culture sets it apart from other companies.

In addition, its management team takes a hands-on approach to business. “We’re a fairly small company, so we have the benefit of knowing most people pretty well,” Dunn says. “Many of our people have great industry experience and long-tenure, so we are very fortunate.”