Mountaineer Gas Company reveals timeline of start to West Side natural gas outage - WOWK 13 News
Mountaineer Gas Company reveals timeline of start to West Side natural gas outage | WOWK 13 News
CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – The Mountaineer Gas Company has revealed the timeline of events in connection to the natural gas crisis on Charleston’s West Side.
The company sent a report detailing response efforts on November 10. The report was requested by the Pubic Service Commission of West Virginia while their investigation continues.
According to the report, crews discovered and removed several gas meters gushed by water. They eventually found the location of the primary leak at the intersections of Madison and Florida Streets. Upon arriving, they discovered one of their steel gas lines was burst by a water jet stream.
The gas company goes on to say that they were unable to clean their lines until the water was shut off. According to their report, gas company crews were on standby for about eleven hours between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m. until West Virginia American Water located the right water valve.
The Public Service Commission also requested documents from West Virginia American Water, specifically communications and data from and regarding the night of the water line leak. The water company rejected that request, claiming their requests are “unduly burdensome.” They go on to claim that they are being targeted more than Mountaineer Gas.
A spokesperson with West Virginia American Water sent a statement to 13 News saying in part,
“West Virginia American Water remains committed to participating in a General Investigation that is thorough and seeks the truth, but in order to do so, the General Investigation must be a fair and equitable process for both utilities. West Virginia American Water and Mountaineer Gas customers deserve a fair process, and knowing all the facts is the best way to mitigate any future events for the benefit of all of our customers.” West Virginia American Water
At that time, 46 miles of gas lines were flooded, knocking out natural gas services for more than one thousand homes. One of those customers, Jules Porto, says even six and a half weeks since the outage began, he still doesn’t have running hot water.
“Nine tenths of the time, I don’t have heat. I did have electric heaters, they did provide…But it’s annoying,” Porto said. “It would be see your breath cold.”
Mountaineer Gas says there are still some homes that do not have their utilities fully restored. The ones still waiting either have pending deliveries, or have had scheduling conflicts with crews.
To read the full report on the Pubic Service Commission of West Virginia’s website, click here.
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.