WHITTIER, Alaska (KTUU) – Natural gas service to Whittier could begin coming back online as early Friday night for some customers, more than a week after a ruptured pipeline forced the shutoff of the entire community’s supply, Enstar Natural Gas said Wednesday.
An ISO container of liquefied natural gas and a vaporizer trailer crossed the U.S.-Canada border overnight and are headed to Portage as of Friday afternoon, according to the utility. Enstar cautioned that reconnections will only begin once the equipment is staged and the pipeline system is repressurized — a process that alone could take several hours.
Restoring service won’t be quick even after gas starts flowing again. Enstar technicians must individually enter each home and business to turn meters back on and relight appliances by hand, a step-by-step process the company said will run around the clock until every customer is reconnected. Each visit is expected to take about 30 minutes, though larger properties or those with multiple appliances may take longer.
Customers are being asked to keep phones accessible for calls from technicians scheduling reconnections, including overnight, and to clear paths to gas appliances and secure pets ahead of time. Anyone Enstar can’t reach will get a door hanger with instructions to call 1-877-907-9767, where dispatch is staffed 24/7 to arrange a visit.
The utility reiterated that only its own technicians are authorized to restore meters or relight appliances, warning customers against attempting it themselves.
The outage traces back to Aug. 16, when an already-monitored section of pipeline crossing the Twentymile River deteriorated further and forced an emergency shutoff. Enstar had flagged a break in the submerged pipeline as early as Aug. 10 and warned at the time that service could be interrupted while repairs were made. Once the shutoff happened, the company estimated customers could be without gas until Sept. 5.
Enstar is also asking all Whittier account holders to confirm their current contact information with the company’s marketing department, either by phone at 907-334-7770 during business hours or by email at marketing@enstarnaturalgas.com, to help ensure smooth scheduling once technicians begin reconnections.
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