BGE works to restore gas service in West Baltimore

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. was continuing Saturday to restore natural gas service to hundreds of customers in West Baltimore after water infiltrated a distribution network, the utility said. By Saturday night, the utility expected to restore service to about half of the gas mains serving customers in the area, BGE spokeswoman Linda Foy said. Foy said crews had removed 6,000 gallons of water in the main by Saturday afternoon, about half of the water that flooded the gas distribution network. The outage knocked out service to customers in a “multiblock radius” around Matthew A. Henson Elementary School. BGE crews were working with the city public works department to identify the source of water and stop the leaks Friday afternoon. “It is critical that customers allow BGE to access their homes and businesses to turn off their gas services so the gas mains can be cleared of water,” BGE said in a news release. “Once all gas meters are turned off and water is cleared from the lines, BGE can begin to reintroduce natural gas to the gas mains. Then, BGE crews will have to re-enter buildings to restore service to meters and relight customers’ gas appliances.” BGE said it had no timetable for when all service may be restored, but said crews were working around the clock. Customers in the area affected by the outage who had not had their service disconnected were asked to call BGE at 1-800-685-0123.