(WTNH) — Eversource Energy crews are working to restore natural gas to its 2,500 customers in Derby and Ansonia after an outage Tuesday.
As of 6 p.m. Thursday, Eversource has restored gas services to over 2,200 customers of the 2,500 affected in Derby and Ansonia.
Workers were performing regular maintenance on the system Tuesday when they found a blockage in one of the valves, which Eversource says is rare. The valve has since been fixed, and Wednesday crews checked each of the customer’s homes before service can be fully restored.
There were no gas leaks at any point, according to Eversource.
All schools in Ansonia were closed Wednesday due to the service issue, Superintendent Dr. Joseph DiBacco told News 8 Tuesday.
According to Eversource spokesperson, Mitch Gross, the company had technicians and supervisors working to completely resolve the issue — including personnel from Massachusetts. However, no evacuations had occurred due to the outage.
Eversource deployed a mobile command center in Derby. Pictured below.
Additionally, four zones were outlined as part of a restoration plan. Eversource tells News 8 their plan requires them to sectionalize, secure, and shut off service one zone at a time.
The Town of Derby released a statement saying that Eversource customers received calls alerting that door-to-door gas shut service was underway by technicians — all of whom were screened for COVID-19 and cleared.
Crews have gone house to house turning gas back on and relighting appliances. They also are making sure there are no issues before the services are restored.
News 8 talked with Eversource Gas President Bill Akely who explained, there was never a leak during the incident: “It was just an outage. It caused a stoppage of flow but never a concern with leaks or any public safety concern.”
Eversource tells News 8 that some customers should plan for a multi-day service outage. Eversource plans to have service restored to a majority of customers by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4,
Eversource urges customers with a gas outage issue to contact (877) 944-5325. Additionally, customers without heat are instructed to reserve a hotel room — keeping their copy of their receipt — and Eversource will provide reimbursement with a credit to their bill.
For a look at the affected areas https://www.eversource.com/content/ct-c/residential/safety/natural-gas-safety/gas-event
