Thousands Remain Without Gas In Discovery Bay
DISCOVERY BAY (CBS SF) -- PG&E was working to restore gas Monday to thousands customers who lost service in the Discovery Bay area of unincorporated Contra Costa County on Sunday, according to the utility.
The problem began with a service disruption at a gas facility in the Discovery Bay area at 1 a.m. Sunday morning, according to PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian.
Gas service to those 6,200 customers then had to be suspended for safety reasons, Sarkissian said. The problem's exact cause has not been pinned down yet and the extent of locations affected is also still being assessed, she said.
PG&E dispatched more than 200 gas representatives to the region in order to investigate a potential cause and conduct safety checks. Some of the employees have already restored gas to customers.
Sarkissian said around 9:30 a.m. Monday that PG&E was not able to provide an estimate as to when all customers may have their service restored.
Part of the difficulty in determining when normal service will resume is the fact that the customers have to be home to allow PG&E workers to restore their gas, she said.
As of Monday evening, some 1,100 households were still without gas service. The fact that PG&E crews have to visit each individual home to turn the gas back on and relight pilot lights is slowing the process.
Sarkissian said door hangers with instructions and contact information are being left at the homes of customers who were not present when a utility worker attempted a service restoration.
To help restore the normal service, Sarkissian said PG&E transported liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas on trucks to inject further supplies of gas into local pipelines.
That also provided heat to a warming center that PG&E worked with the American Red Cross to set up at Timber Point Elementary School at 40 Newberry Lane in Discovery Bay.
A second warming center was opened at the Discovery Bay Community Center at 1601 Discovery Bay Blvd. It was an overflow center that did not prove to be necessary, Sarkissian said.
About 50 to 60 people utilized the warming center at the school on Sunday, she said. Only one person needed to use the facility for sleeping.
"He was here until about 2 a.m.," she said. "But we were able to restore his gas so that he could return to his home."
As of Monday morning, Sarkissian said the warming center "was pretty quiet." Sarkissian advises customers who have not yet reported a gas outage to do so by calling (800) 743-5002.
She also said it's important that customers ask to see valid identification before allowing anyone claiming to be a PG&E representative inside their home.