NJNG WILL BEGIN TO IMPLEMENT ITS SERVICE RESTORATION PLAN FOR LONG BEACH ISLAND, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2012

(WALL, NJ) – New Jersey Natural Gas will begin to implement its service restoration plan for Long Beach Island this Sunday, November 11. 

The work will take place in three phases: first, a team will re-introduce natural gas into the main, one section of the island at a time.  As each section is completed, a second team will begin to repair and replace the meter sets within that section.  Once this work is completed, a home or business will have natural gas up to their meter.  In the third phase, if a home or business has electricity and is habitable and occupied, then the customer may have their own qualified technician determine that their natural gas system and equipment are safe for use, and turn on their natural gas service. 

Other than Holgate, where infrastructure replacement is ongoing, we expect to complete the first and second phases of our service restoration for the entire island by December 1, 2012.  Prior to that date, as NJNG completes the first two work phases for each section of the island, customers in that respective area will have the opportunity to restore natural gas service to their home.  Every day, we will post on our website at www.njng.com a list of the streets where we are working as well as an estimated date when we expect they will become ready for qualified technicians to complete their work.  We expect to post the first list of streets on www.njng.com later today, with an estimated date of next week for technicians to begin work.

We are advising customers as follows:

• As a property owner, you are responsible for maintaining all natural gas lines on your side of the meter. 
• You need to have a qualified technician inspect all your natural gas lines for proper operation and leaks.  
• Any furnaces, boilers or other appliances exposed to flooding or other storm-related damage must be serviced and determined to be safe for use by qualified technicians.   
• Once a qualified technician has determined that your natural gas system and equipment are safe for use, the technician should connect your natural gas line to the natural gas valve.
• Once the qualified technician establishes the piping connection and determines that it is safe for use, the natural gas valve can be turned to the on position.
• There will be a tag on the valve, which must be signed and dated by both the resident and the technician, and then returned to the municipal code official.
• 

Bay Head to Seaside
We have completed our initial main assessments and are continuing to develop our service restoration plan, including the installation of new main where the ocean breeched the barrier island near the Mantoloking Bridge. Today we are conducting a detailed inspection of our main.

Monmouth County
We have completed 60 percent of our initial service assessments in the Bayshore region of Monmouth County.  We continue to develop our service restoration plan for Sea Bright. We are installing new services and sections of main in Manasquan.

Ocean County Mainland 
We have completed 3,229 service assessments; 737 are ready for service restoration, and 135 meters have been turned back on.

Federal, New Jersey and local safety codes prohibit tampering with natural gas meters and service lines.  Even if natural gas service has not yet been restored to your area, this could significantly hamper efforts to restore service.

If you smell an odor of natural gas, leave the building immediately.  Do not light matches, touch electrical switches or appliances, or use your telephone.  From a safe location, customers should notify us of all gas leaks immediately at 1-800-GAS-LEAK.