IMPORTANT UPDATE ON DAMAGE FROM HURRICANE SANDY

4:25 p.m. UPDATE -- New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) has completed shut-off of the natural gas infrastructure that serves the hurricane-damaged barrier islands south of Johnson Street in Bay Head to Seaside Park, as well as Long Beach Island.

Approximately 28,000 customers are impacted.

NJNG said the system is now being vented.  Customers may smell a gas odor, depending on the wind, during this process.

Mutual aid crews that aided in leak detection and resolution are now being sent home, with NJNG’s gratitude.  Once restoration begins, NJNG will again reach out for properly qualified personnel to support our restoration.

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Wall, NJ -- New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is shutting off natural gas infrastructure that serves the hurricane-damaged barrier islands south of Johnson Street in Bay Head to Seaside Park, as well as Long Beach Island.
 
Approximately 28,000 customers will be impacted.  JCP&L reports that electricity will be restored to the affected areas once the natural gas system is shut down.  NJNG will be focusing its efforts on assisting impacted customers by securing and distributing electric heaters.
 
NJNG said it will take a couple of hours to shut the valves off, and a few additional hours to vent the system.  Customers will smell the venting during this process.
 
NJNG has more than 400 personnel on the ground, plus mutual aid crews from Washington Gas Light, Columbia, Unitel, New England Gas and Delmarva, that have been addressing each of the leaks.  NJNG responded to over 1,300 leak reports over the past three days and have made each safe.  Additional mutual aid crews from PSE&G, South Jersey Gas and UGI are on their way.
 
The last flare-up that was reported in the Curtis Point or Mantaloking section of Brick Township was made safe at 4:30 this morning.
 
“Our crews did everything we could to save the system,” said Chief Operating Officer Kathleen T. Ellis.  “We were only able to gain access to some of the most damaged areas within the last 24 hours, and the devastation is nothing that could be seen from the air.  It is beyond imagination.  The only safe thing to do is shut down the system.”
 
NJNG expects water to infiltrate its pipes once natural gas pressure is no longer flowing through them.  This will damage the pipes and require the infrastructure to be rebuilt before service to the barrier islands can be restored.
 
Natural gas utilities were also forced to retire damaged portions of systems in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
 
“It will take time to get life back to normal for our customers; but make no mistake, we will not rest until it is done,” said Ellis.