Newport Gas Outage Second-Largest After Hurricane Sandy

NEWPORT, R.I. -- On day three of Newport's gas outage, 6,500 National Grid customers remain without heat. The company reported that relighting is underway in Middletown, while Phase One continues in Newport.

Aquidneck Island's gas outage is the second-largest seen by the company, behind only the outage caused by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey, the company said.

Terry Soblewski, senior vice president at National Grid Rhode Island, gave an update on the situation from Gurney's Resort on Wednesday morning. Soblewski has temporarily taken over for National Grid Rhode Island President Tim Horan after he collapsed during a press conference Tuesday night. Horan was taken to Rhode Island Hospital and later released.

About 9 p.m. on Tuesday, gas service was restored to 340 customers in Middletown. According to Ross Turrini, National Grid's group chief engineer for gas, relighting efforts immediately began and 198 customers had had full service restored as of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Phase One efforts continue in Newport, where as of Wednesday morning approximately 5,600 of the 6,500 customers affected still had their service shut off. While ground crews continue to work around the clock to shut off gas service to homes, efforts are expected to slow down as technicians address unoccupied homes.

"We've built this into our timeline, and we're expecting to stay on our schedule," Turrini said.

In times of emergency, National Grid is authorized to enter unoccupied homes with a locksmith. All technicians who enter homes are accompanied by a Newport police officer.

Locksmiths will not be used once the relighting process begins. Newport Mayor Jamie Bova said National Grid is keeping a list of homes that require a locksmith, and efforts will be made to get in touch with owners for relighting.

"There's been some concern about relighting from out-of-town residents," Bova said. "We're doing our best to work with them."

Turrini reiterated that residents should not attempt to turn gas on or off themselves.

"This is incredibly dangerous," Turrini said. "In fact, federal law requires that gas service only be done by certified professionals."

Gas service by an untrained person could lead to a gas leak or improperly severed service, leading to the potential for an explosion once gas flow returns.

Re-pressurization of gas lines in Middletown took approximately one hour. Because Newport is a considerably larger area, re-pressurization of the system is expected to take five to seven hours.

Many businesses, including Newport Public Library, all public schools and City Hall, are closed Wednesday.

Rhode Island National Grid Communications Director Ted Kresse tweeted a photo just after 11 a.m. Wednesday showing the scope of the outage on the island.

Mayor Bova continues to urge affected residents to leave their homes. National Grid reminds customers that they will reimburse all hotel costs, and have vouchers available for anyone who is unable to pay for hotel costs upfront. Anyone in need of assistance finding shelter is encouraged to go to Gurney's Resort on Goat Island, where a National Grid customer service headquarters has been established. The Red Cross is set up at the resort and hot meals for those in need.

"While 40 degrees is warmer than 6 degrees, it's still not warm enough," Bova said during Tuesday's press conference.

Bova continued that she is extremely impressed by the community's response during the crisis.

"I'm really proud of our community in this moment," she said.

At this time, Bova said there have been no reports of looting or other police activity.

In a Facebook post, Newport Public Library workers assured the public that late fines will not apply and holds will not expire. Both the library and City Hall are closed on Wednesday. In addition, both the City Council meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and the Waterfront Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday have been canceled.

Meals are available Newport School families and students at Florence Gray Center on York Street. Breakfast is available from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Students should be accompanied by an adult during mealtimes.

The Boys and Girls Club of Newport is offering recreational activities for kids between the ages of 10 and 17 at the Florence Gray Center from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Due to a lack of heat, the Kids Clubhouse has been relocated to the Florence Gray Center as well and will operate there for the remainder of the week from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Participants in the Pell School Food Backpack program can pick up backpacks from the school's lobby from 1 p.m until 2 p.m. Bags will be available to other families in need on a first come, first served basis from 2:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.

READ MORE:

• Schools Canceled, Free Meals Available As Gas Outage Continues
• National Grid President Collapses During Press Conference
• National Grid: Gas Restoration Will Take Several Days
• Five Ways To Stay Safe During The Newport Gas Emergency
• Governor Declares State of Emergency in Newport For Gas Outage

Photo: National Grid staging headquarters, Newport Grand Casino. Credit: Norman Nunes.