Officials respond to questions about gas outages

January 24, 2019 2:11 am

By Jordan Mazza

NEWPORT, RI (WLNE) — Thousands on Aquidneck Island are still without heat because of dangerously low pressure in one of the pipelines serving the area.

There were signs of hope for some customers in Middletown on Wednesday, with National Grid relighting gas service to their homes.

But in Newport the process will take longer. Crews there are still manually turning off gas at each home and business before they can restore service later.
the governor today offering some relief to employees affected by the outages.

“If your employer is shut down, you are able to collect unemployment and file for unemployment immediately without delay,” said Gov. Raimondo.

Officials also say they’re hearing a lot of reports that people with heat are leaving their homes or draining their pipes in fear that they may lose heat.

“If you’re lucky enough to have heat because you’re on the high pressure system, you’re not going to lose your heat, you don’t have to leave,” said the governor. “It’s unrelated.”

Another question from customers: who will be getting heat back first?

Officials say the entire system will have to be re-pressurized all at once, but the relighting process will be based on community priorities.

“We’ll be working to follow any priorities that the local community has to be putting on the most critical facilities as quickly as we can,” said Terry Sobolewski.

Officials are also urging residents to call 211 if they are still in need of shelter, food, or warmth.