Columbia Gas Blames Later Restoration Dates On Data Entry Error

ANDOVER, MA -- Columbia Gas of Massachusetts said Wednesday afternoon that a data entry error caused some residents in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence to see estimated dates of gas restoration service after the Nov. 19 deadline set by state and company officials. The glitch was discovered by residents who logged into the company's interactive map Wednesday morning to see their relight dates had been pushed back by as much as three weeks, with some residents being told their service would not be restored until Nov. 22 -- Thanksgiving day and three days after the deadline.

"Our interactive map was erroneously showing relight dates after November 19. This was due to a data entry error and it is being corrected," Dean Lieberman, a Columbia Gas spokesman, said in a statement.

According to posts on social media, at least one resident on Lewis Street had their relight date changed from November 2 to November 22/. Other residents saw their relight days pushed back by a few days to as many as three weeks. In some cases, residents still waiting for service to be restored suddenly saw their homes listed as "not affected."

Lieberman's statement did not address the concerns raised by residents who had later dates. The residents have been without gas service since Sept. 13, when explosions destroyed or damaged 131 homes and left one man dead.

The glitch with the utility's interactive map comes on a day the National Weather Service is predicting that much of the Merrimack Valley could see its first freeze of the season. Wind chill could make outdoor temperatures feel as if they are in the teens in the next few nights.

As of Tuesday, Columbia Gas said it had placed 5,207 people in temporary housing, including hotel rooms and trailers, as well as the first family to move into one of the apartments the company has leased. Those numbers are expected to spike as the temperature continues to drop.

Residents can plug their address into the interactive map and get three dates: the date their street is "gas ready," the date their individual home will be "house ready" and the date Columbia Gas technicians will restore gas to their home. The dates are listed as "on or before." But residents are increasingly voicing complaints that the information if unreliable.

Earlier this month, Columbia Gas said it was on track to meet the deadline and it has posted daily updates on its progression. In addition to connecting each affected home individually, the utility needs to replace 45 miles of underground gas mains, as well as individual service lines.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Columbia Gas said it had replaced 26 miles of the main transmission line and 2,381 services line, of which 2,166 were "gas ready." The company was scheduled to have 1,400 workers from around the country working in the three communities on Wednesday. Crews have been working six days per week since last month.

"We're trying to do five years of work in the next four or five weeks," a Columbia Gas of Ohio gas fitter working in Lawrence said Tuesday. The worker declined to give his name.

Never miss another local news story: Get free local news alerts right to your inbox.

File photo by Mike Carraggi/Patch.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).