Gas is flowing once again along Enbridge’s 30-inch natural gas line, following an explosion on its 36-inch gas line near Prince George on Tuesday.
The smaller line was shut down as a precautionary measure following the incident, but began flowing again early Thursday morning.
Doug Stout of Fortis BC said Wednesday that 85 per cent of the gas his company feeds to homes and businesses is carried by the twinned pipeline that runs from northern British Columbia to the United States border south of Vancouver.
FortisBC says it will continue to monitor gas flow as they begin restoring service to approximately 128 customers in Salmon Valley, who had their service disrupted after Enbridge shut down its gas line.
Customers in that area of the province can expect a FortisBC representative to contact them about turning the gas back on at the meter and relighting all affected appliances.
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However, the damaged 36-inch line still needs to be repaired, which will continue to constrain gas supply throughout the province.
FortisBC continues to ask customers to avoid all non-essential use of natural gas until the situation has been completely resolved.
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No one was hurt in the blast that forced about 100 members of the nearby Lheidli T’enneh First Nation from their homes.
Chief Dominic Frederick with the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation said Enbridge contacted him shortly after the blast.
“They had told me there was gas building up in the underground. For some reason or another the gas had stopped flowing and it built up and it just exploded,” Frederick said.
