A state agency has fined Kansas Gas Service $7,000 over problems with locating underground gas lines.

The Kansas Corporation Commission originally approved $14,000 in penalties related to incidents in the Kansas City area, but cut the amount in half after KGS sought reconsideration.

Gas utilities must provide accurate information about where lines are within two days because of dangers if a line is struck and natural gas is released. KCC staff reported finding 149 instances of noncompliance related to KGS in the past two years.

The utility attributes the problems to an unusually high number of requests to locate gas lines in Johnson and Wyandotte counties, and said work laying fiber-optic cables drove that increase. KGS also says it’s made changes to address the problem.

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Associated Press information from: The Topeka Capital-Journal