Officials slam Columbia’s efforts
Say too many displaced, lack heat
Merrimack Valley officials say Columbia Gas’ efforts to restore heat and power to the area after a gas explosion knocked out service to thousands in September are inadequate.
“After two months of waiting, hundreds of families are still displaced or are living in very cold conditions,” Lawrence City Councilor Pavel Payano told the Herald. “Many of these families are still paying rent. They are traveling farther to drop off their kids or go to work. Most of them are in living conditions where either their mental or physical health is negatively affected.
“Thanksgiving is almost here and many families will not be able to make their own warm cooked meals,” Payano added. “When you learn about the daily struggles of the people being affected, you learn that the progress has been far from adequate.”
Columbia Gas, however, says progress is being made on restoring service to homes and businesses in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover after an overpressurization incident caused explosions and fires and killed one. The company says 47 percent of residential meters have been restored — or 3,429 based on approximately 7,500 total residential meters. So far, 2,161 families (7,693 people) have been placed in alternative housing. A total of 304 families have returned home from alternative housing and have restored gas service.
Columbia Gas also announced this week that it will provide more than 20,000 meals for Thanksgiving to people in Andover, Lawrence and North Andover.
But local leaders say efforts are wanting.
“They are not meeting any deadline they propose,” said Lawrence City Councilor Jeovanny Rodriguez. “There is still a lot of work to be done. The temperatures are dropping. This is going to be horrible for these people. I don’t see a solution down the line.”
North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor said he remains hopeful that homes will be back in service for the holidays.
“It is going OK,” Maylor said. “There have been some positive steps with the amount of resources brought in. But we continue to see a level of inefficiency and redundant visits to homes. We continue to feel we are in the middle of this thing. Residents are cautious.”
Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Senate plans to hold hearings on the gas explosions and natural gas infrastructure on Dec. 4 in Boston and Dec. 17 in the Merrimack Valley.
“I share the many concerns that have been raised about our gas industry over the past several months,” Senate President Karen Spilka said in a statement.
State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, who represents North Andover, said the state must do everything possible to prevent future threats from gas explosions.
“Given the toll these events have taken on the Merrimack Valley, it is imperative that we conduct thorough hearings to examine what went wrong and what legislative or regulatory actions might be employed to prevent any future similar incidents anywhere in the state in the future,” Tarr said.