LAWRENCE, Mass., Sept. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Gas
of Massachusetts, a unit of
NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI), today announced the next phase of
recovery and replacement activities for the Greater Lawrence Area following the tragic
events of September 13.
NiSource President and CEO Joe
Hamrock hosted a press conference with Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Lawrence Mayor Dan
Rivera, Andover Town Manager Andrew
Flanagan, North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor, Adjutant General of the MA
National Guard Gary W. Keefe,
Massachusetts Emergency Management
Agency Director Kurt Schwartz, and
public safety officials to announce utility restorations for the
impacted areas, continued community support and the replacement
plan for the gas pipeline system.
"Many people are still hurting in the wake of last week's
disaster," said NiSource CEO Joe
Hamrock. "We owe it to this community to fully address the
community's needs and rebuild your trust in us."
Hamrock said Columbia Gas' recovery and replacement plan
will:
- aim to have service restored to all homes and workplaces by
November 19;
- bring immediate help to people who need it most;
- replace and upgrade appliances and other natural gas equipment
damaged in customers' homes and businesses; and
- provide the assurance of a safe and modern energy system,
installed with the highest levels of scrutiny and
accountability.
Governor Charlie Baker announced
that through his executive authority under a state of emergency, he
has instructed the Department of Public Utilities to request that
Columbia Gas hire an outside contractor. Columbia Gas announced
today that Navy Captain Joe
Albanese, Ret., Founder and CEO of Commodore Builders, a
construction management firm, will serve as the Chief Recovery
Officer for the project. He will be assisted by Rear Admiral
Richard E. Cellon, Ret., President
of Cellon and Associates. Albanese spent 25 years of military
service with the naval construction forces, most recently leading
more than 2,000 Navy SeaBees in contingency operations and more
than 2,000 SeaBees throughout the Middle
East in 2007. He will be responsible for command, control
and communications.
To assist with the next steps in the recovery effort, Governor
Baker has activated the National Guard to support delivery of hot
plates and provide resources for the assessment team.
Starting Saturday morning, hundreds of the Massachusetts
National Guard will assist Columbia Gas in providing nearly 7,000
self-contained hot plate units to customers who need them for
cooking until natural gas service is restored. This will be
followed by a similar distribution of space heaters next week.
On Monday, 60 Columbia Gas and contracted construction teams
will begin the massive replacement program in all three
communities. The effort will ultimately replace the 48-mile, cast
iron and bare steel distribution system with state-of-the-art
infrastructure and safety features such as excess flow valves that
automatically shut off gas flow if a service line is damaged or
broken.
"We will return natural gas services as quickly as possible –
but our core commitment to safety will underpin these efforts,"
Hamrock noted. "Services will be restored only after new facilities
have been fully inspected, tested and proven safe."
Columbia Gas is working closely with industry and regional
partners, including local fire and police departments, elected
officials and the Department of Public Works, which is reviewing
all engineering and construction plans.
Next week, teams of electricians, plumbers, and assessors will
begin electrical assessments and installation of 24,000 space
heaters in homes. Before installation, local fire chiefs and
electricians must certify that a dwelling is safe for a space
heater to operate without risk of fire hazards. For places that do
not meet these criteria, the team is exploring alternative home
heating options. Language translators will be available and
residents should be aware that teams of workers and guardsmen that
visit homes will present an identification card.
On Wednesday, September 26, teams
will begin deployment to every impacted residence or business to do
a full assessment and determine what appliances need to be replaced
or repaired. This assessment will help prepare customers to have
gas service restored safely. Residents will receive a communication
from Columbia Gas to confirm the assessment so they can plan to be
home. It will take several weeks for all assessments to be
completed.
As part of planning, the team is in the process of evaluating
all 48 miles of pipeline that service approximately 8,600 meters
and will prioritize affected systems and address those immediate
concerns first. Preliminary work to restore service for a
very limited number of customers is also underway. Customers will
be updated as more details become available. Updates are also
available on www.ColumbiaGasMa.com.
Situational History
On September 13, a series of fires broke out and
explosions occurred in South
Lawrence, Andover and
North Andover related to the
delivery of natural gas. The fires tragically killed one
individual, caused a number of injuries, destroyed homes and led to
the evacuation of significant portions of each municipality. A
mobile command center was stood up in Lawrence and supported by first responders,
utility companies, federal officials and members of state and local
government.
On Friday, September 14, Governor
Baker declared a state of emergency to facilitate a comprehensive
emergency response and recovery effort for the people of
Greater Lawrence. The action
authorized the Chairman of the Department of Public Utilities to
authorize Eversource to take management control over the
coordinated effort to safely restore utility services in
South Lawrence, Andover and North
Andover. Over the course of the weekend, teams accessed the
8,527 meters that were impacted by the gas incident, turned them
off, and safely cleared the home for any gas detection. By
Sunday, September 16 all impacted
homes had been safely cleared of gas, power was restored to nearly
all homes in the area, and people were allowed to return home.
On Saturday, September 15,
Columbia Gas opened a claims center in Lawrence and later subsequent claims centers
in Andover and North Andover for affected residents to
establish an initial claim and a monetary advance payment toward
loss to meet immediate needs for evacuation costs, food spoilage,
child care costs, and other expenses.
On Sunday, September 16, the
Massachusetts Emergency Management
Agency opened up a Recovery Resource Center (RRC) in Lawrence to provide services and programs to
meet the needs of residents of Lawrence, Andover, and North
Andover who were impacted. The Recovery Resource Center has
been staffed by representatives of key local and state agencies,
the American Red Cross and Salvation Army, disaster relief
organizations affiliated with Massachusetts Voluntary Organizations
Active in Disaster (VOAD) and Columbia Gas. State agencies at the
RRC include the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA),
Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Department
of Children and Families (DCF), Department of Mental Health (DMH),
Registry of Motor Vehicles, and Division of Insurance (DOI).
On Monday, September 17, the
Greater Lawrence Disaster Relief Fund was formed to serve the needs
of impacted residents, including housing, sustenance and support
services. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts
President Steve Bryant announced a
$10 million contribution by Columbia
Gas.
About Captain Joe
Albanese:
Albanese has 28 years of military
service and retired as a Captain in the United State Navy Civil
Engineer Corps and is the Founder and CEO of Commodore Builders, a
construction management firm started in 2002. Joe Albanese spent 25 year of military service
with the naval construction forces, where he focused on thinking
strategically about world defense, security and the global economy.
Most recently, he led more than 2,000 Navy SeaBees in contingency
operations and more than 2,000 Sea Beas throughout the Middle East in 2007. Albanese's priorities
have been on driving development and change locally by attracting
entrepreneurs, creating affordable housing, improving commerce and
the economy in Massachusetts. He
has deep ties and strong roots in Massachusetts, working at the executive level
at a number of local construction firms and serving on the advisory
board of UMass Lowell College of Engineering, as past chairman of
the Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts and as current Chairman of the
Board of Directors, New England Center for Homeless Veterans.
Albanese graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from
UMass Lowell and has an MBA from
Boston University.
About Rear Admiral Richard E.
Cellon:
Admiral Cellon currently serves as
President of Cellon and Associates, where he consults for multiple
clients on a wide variety of business management and leadership
issues. Prior to this, he was Director of Operations of Sustainable
Biofuels Solutions (SBS) in Hamilton,
Virginia after serving as President of the Downstream Oil
and Gas business segment in Tulsa,
Oklahoma. Graduating from the United
States Naval Academy in 1978, he has over 31 years of Naval
service commanding Naval Facilities Engineering Commands across the
nation. Retiring in October of 2009, his final duty assignment was
as Commander of the FIRST Naval Construction Division. After
leaving active duty, he worked at Willbros Group, a global
engineering and construction contractor specializing in energy
infrastructure serving the oil, gas, petrochemical, and power
industries, headquartered in Houston,
TX. Cellon holds master's degrees from the University of Florida (Civil Engineering) and the
Naval War College (National Security
and Strategic Studies). He also completed the Wharton School's
Advanced Management Program, at the University
of Pennsylvania. Cellon is a native of Gainesville, Florida.
About Columbia Gas of Massachusetts
Columbia Gas of
Massachusetts delivers clean, affordable and efficient natural
gas to over 320,000 natural gas customers in
southeastern Massachusetts, the
greater Springfield area and the Merrimack
Valley. Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, the company is the largest
gas-only provider in the state and is one
of NiSource's seven regulated utility companies.
NiSource (NYSE:NI) is one of the largest fully-regulated
utility companies in the United
States, serving approximately 3.5 million natural gas
customers and 500,000 electric customers through its
local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. More
information about Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is
available
at www.ColumbiaGasMA.com. NI-F
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal
securities laws. Investors and prospective investors should
understand that many factors govern whether any forward-looking
statement contained herein will be or can be realized. Any one of
those factors could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected. Examples of forward-looking statements in this
press release include statements and expectations regarding
NiSource's or any of its subsidiaries' business, performance,
growth, commitments, investment opportunities, and planned,
identified, infrastructure or utility investments. All
forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that management
believes to be reasonable; however, there can be no assurance that
actual results will not differ materially. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from the projections,
forecasts, estimates, plans, expectations and strategy discussed in
this press release include, among other things, NiSource's debt
obligations; any changes in NiSource's credit rating; NiSource's
ability to execute its growth strategy; changes in general
economic, capital and commodity market conditions; pension funding
obligations; economic regulation and the impact of regulatory rate
reviews; NiSource's ability to obtain expected financial or
regulatory outcomes; any damage to NiSource's reputation;
compliance with environmental laws and the costs of associated
liabilities; fluctuations in demand from residential and commercial
customers; economic conditions of certain industries; the success
of NIPSCO's electric generation strategy; the price of energy
commodities and related transportation costs or an inability to
obtain an adequate, reliable and cost-effective fuel supply to meet
customer demands; the reliability of customers and suppliers to
fulfill their payment and contractual obligations; potential
impairments of goodwill or definite-lived intangible assets;
changes in taxation and accounting principles; potential incidents
and other operating risks associated with our business; the impact
of an aging infrastructure; the impact of climate change; potential
cyber-attacks; construction risks and natural gas costs and supply
risks; extreme weather conditions; the attraction and retention of
a qualified work force; advances in technology; the ability of
NiSource's subsidiaries to generate cash; tax liabilities
associated with the separation of Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc.;
NiSource's ability to manage new initiatives and organizational
changes; the performance of third-party suppliers and service
providers; the availability of insurance to cover all significant
losses and other matters set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors"
section of NiSource's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2017 and in
other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A credit
rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities, and
may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the
assigning rating organization. In addition, dividends are subject
to board approval. NiSource expressly disclaims any duty to update,
supplement or amend any of its forward-looking statements contained
in this press release, whether as a result of new information,
subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by applicable
law.
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SOURCE Columbia Gas of Massachusetts