Gas Outage: Shutoffs Complete In Newport

NEWPORT, R.I. -- National Grid entered Phase II of the gas restoration process in Newport at 11:45 a.m. Friday after completing the shutoff process to all 6,400 residents affected by the outage.

During Phase II, pressure will be restored to the system. Officials initially estimated the process would take between five and eight hours, but said Friday morning they can't know for sure.

"The earliest we're looking at is this evening, which is what we're hoping for," said Ross Turrini, National Grid's Group Chief Engineer for Gas. "Late would be tomorrow morning."

Turrini added that 600 National Grid technicians are on standby and will begin the relighting process as soon as the order is given.

Meanwhile, Gov. Gina Raimondo said she plans to find out who is to blame for the outage as soon as service is restored.

"Right now, my top priority remains the 10,000 people who were affected by this and their safety," Gov. Raimondo said during Friday morning's press conference. "We don't know why this was caused, but we'll get to the bottom of it and find out who is at fault."

Gov. Raimondo then assured the public that the issue will not affect rate payers in their energy bills.

When asked, National Grid officials said they do not have an exact timeline as of yet for when Newport residents can expect to receive reimbursements, but that the company will focus on reimbursement efforts more once service has been restored.

Photo Credit: Norman Nunes