Pressure drop in PNG line brings call for minimal use of natural gas in Prince Rupert, Port Edward

A pressure drop in the PNG line between Prince Rupert and Terrace
has the gas company calling for minimal use on the North Coast wihle
they investigate the cause of the situation

See Update at bottom of page


Add a developing situation with the region's natural gas pipeline as part of the litany of woes from a wild weather week for the North Coast inland areas.

Pacific Natural Gas which provides the gas service to the Northwest has issued a call for residents of Prince Rupert and Port Edward try and minimize their use of natural gas for the moment, to allow for PNG crews to assess the situation on the line between Prince Rupert and Terrace.

On Wednesday the gas company noticed a pressure drop in the line that feeds the Prince Rupert/Port Edward area, though the conditions currently being found in the region are making for a challenging situation for PNG workers to deal with as they try to determine the extent of the problem.

The risk of avalanche along the Highway 16 corridor resulted in the Ministry of Transportation to close the highway to traffic last night, the most recent update from Drive BC provides for a potential reopening of the highway scheduled for 2:30 today, though more will be known about the highway status following a 2 PM update.

There is some positive news on the travel front in the Northwest, with the Nisga'a highway reopened to traffic shortly after 1:30PM

Pacific Northern Gas is working to avoid a full outage and will have further updates on the situation as the day moves along.

The weather for the next 48 hours is calling for highs of 4 to 5 degrees and overnight lows of -3.

Customers with questions for the company related to the situation can contact PNG at 1-800-667-2297


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Thursday Afternoon update: The company notes that work crews have had an opportunity to examine the section in question of the damaged pipeline, with a repair plan in place to tackle the work required, weather permitting.

While there has been no Service Interruption to this point, the company continues to ask that residents of Prince Rupert and Port Edward reduce their use of natural gas until repairs have been completed.

Should the situation change PNG will provide for further updates.

While the PNG website offers few details on the day's events, a flash message that has now been added to the information site does pop up when you log on, advising customers of the current status of their work.

A short message that appears upon log on to the PNG website
provides an update on the gas line situation between Prince Rupert and Terrace
(click on image aboce to enlarge)

For more items related to Pacific Northern Gas see our Hydro and Gas Outages archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.