NEW JERSEY NATURAL GAS RETIRES 12 MILES OF TARGETED AND DAMAGED MAIN ALONG THE SEASIDE PENINSULA

New Jersey Natural Gas today provided the following assessment and restoration updates for the damaged portions of its system:

Bay Head to Seaside
Crews retired damaged main in Mantoloking, as well as targeted main in Normandy, Chadwick Beach, Lavallette and Ortley. In total, 12 miles of main along the peninsula has been retired. Main anomalies must be addressed before gas can be re-introduced into the system. We expect to begin re-pressurizing our system at our regulator station south of the Mantoloking Bridge on December 3. Barring unforeseen conditions that may delay our work, we anticipate restoring natural gas service by the end of December to all of our customers whose homes have not sustained such major damage that we cannot safely restore their service.

Long Beach Island
Today, we are working to restore service to the ninth section of our main on Long Beach Island, from 129th Street to Marine Street.  We expect to move onto the tenth section tomorrow, from Ocean Street to Nelson Avenue.

Natural gas is now available to 7,237 of our customers’ meters.

All additional field assessments of both mains and services in Holgate have been completed, and 40 services have been retired. 

Scheduling, details and updates on our LBI restoration work are available at www.njng.com/safety/hurricane-sandy-updates/lbi-service-restoration.asp

Ocean County Mainland
Natural gas is now available to 8,957 of our affected customers’ meters, with 3,513 turned back on.

Monmouth County
In Manasquan, 66 meters have been made gas-ready. As municipal crews clear away debris, we are continuing our work to install main along First Avenue. A total of 1,180 feet of main has already been replaced. 

There are 29 additional meters in the Bayshore region that are gas-ready. We will be meeting today with Old Bridge Township officials regarding restoration efforts on Clifford Way and Bayshore Avenue in Laurence Harbor.

Meters are now being rebuilt in the sections where natural gas has been reintroduced.  Once a meter has been re-established and you see a tag on the customer gas valve just past your meter, your home’s natural gas service may be turned on by your qualified technician--but only after electricity has been restored, you have safely returned to your home,and your qualified technician has determined that your natural gas equipment is safe to operate.

Federal, New Jersey and local safety codes prohibit tampering with natural gas meters and service lines. Even if natural gas service has not yet been restored to your area, this could significantly hamper efforts to restore service.

If you smell an odor of natural gas, leave the building immediately. Do not light matches, touch electrical switches or appliances, or use your telephone. From a safe location, customers should notify us of all gas leaks immediately at 800-GAS-LEAK.

With natural gas now restored to some affected areas and property clean-up underway, please remember that at least three business days prior to outdoor construction or digging, contractors and property owners – whoever is excavating – must call New Jersey One Call at 811 or 800-272-1000 and take the following steps:

• Wait for the site to be marked with paint, flags or stakes. Yellow indicates the presence of underground natural gas lines.
• Respect the marks and dig with care.
• Hand dig only (no mechanized equipment) within two feet of buried piping and facilities.
• Be mindful that inclement weather may wash away the painted markings.

For additional information, visit our Hurricane Sandy Resource Center at www.njng.com.