PA Public Utility Commission investigating Columbia Gas service outage

BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) Safety Division is investigating the Columbia Gas outage impacting over 4,000 customers in Beaver County.

PUC said it was notified Sunday of the interruption of service caused by a disruption in two natural gas systems.

RELATED COVERAGE >> Thousands of Columbia Gas customers in Beaver County expected to be without gas for days

Since the shutdown, Columbia Gas has been purging the gas distribution system and starting to restore service. It’s a process the Safety Division is monitoring.

Columbia Gas said it’s restoring service in a “phased approach.” It’s grouping customers into one of six phases based on the “scope and complexity” of restoring service in that area. It’s a process they say will take several days. As of Tuesday evening, around 20% of impacted customers had service restored.

RELATED COVERAGE >> Columbia Gas explains plan to restore service to more than 4,000 Beaver County customers

PUC says the cause of the outage involves a gas supply “interruption from a third-party supplier.” The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated to determine if there were any violations of state or federal pipeline safety regulations.

PUC says this investigation could take time because of the “complex circumstances” that may require extensive analysis or technical study. Any determinations or safety concerns will be addressed with pipeline operators or utilities.

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