The natural gas pipeline that ruptured near Prince George has been repaired, but Fortis BC is urging the public to hold off on non-essential uses of natural gas.
Doug Stout is the VP of Marketing Development and External Relations and said it’s going to take some time to get the system back to where it was prior to the explosive.
“Enbridge was able to start flowing natural gas in their 30-inch gas line last night,” said Stout. “That’s the line that was near the 36-inch pipeline that ruptured near Prince George. That means that we’ll be able to start getting gas back down here, so that will take some time during the next day or so, to get the system back to where it needs to be for everyone to fully utilize natural gas.”
Stout said a system assessment will be required.
“We’ll be in contact with our industrial customers who shut back and working with them to get them back on in the next while,” said Stout. “We do need to assess how that system is going to run with only partial gas flows from northern BC. That also impacts our friends down in Oregon and Washington who helped us out.”
The explosion took place around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, sparking a massive fireball that could be seen for miles.
Stout says people can help by turning off their thermostats and natural gas fireplaces, and if you have hot water, that’s heated with natural gas, limit your shower time.
