Gas service restored to majority of Gadsden residents

Officials with Alagasco said Wednesday that Natural gas service is almost back to normal in downtown Gadsden after a disruption Monday night when temperatures dropped to record lows.  Service has been restored to between 330 and 350 customers. The actual number of customers without natural gas was 377. Gas company officials say that Customers in the downtown area experienced a natural gas outage that began Monday night because of unprecedented demand on a newly installed pipeline.  It was necessary to turn meters off. Once the steps were taken to make sure the problem was corrected, workers began going door-to-door to restore service. It was necessary for someone to be at the home or at a business to give the service mechanic access to light the pilots and perform a safety inspection, Goodman said. If no one was home, the service mechanic left a notice on the door providing a number to call to get a mechanic back to the home or business to re-establish service.  Company officials say the remaining customers possibly are at vacant buildings that have an active meter, or the occupant has been out of town. crews are on call and will respond quickly if someone calls to re-establish service.

Company officials said steps have been taken to ensure the problem won’t happen again should further cold weather drive up demand.