CenterPoint Energy looks to meet its Friday deadline of restoring gas service to Seguin
(Seguin) – CenterPoint Energy is inching its way to meeting its Friday deadline of relighting all of its customers in Seguin. At last count, 3,914 plus of the 4,300 customers had their gas service restored.
On Tuesday, a non-CenterPoint Energy pipeline company damaged its line resulting in the outage across Seguin and McQueeney.
By mid-day Thursday, most of the customers were back in working order. That included the dozens and dozens of businesses and restaurants who were forced to close their doors. Seguin ISD schools, the hospital and nursing home facilities were among the top on the list for reconnection and for the most part had already reported service by Wednesday. Soon after the problem was discovered, CenterPoint tanker trucks were parked outside critical care facilities to help provide the fuel that they needed.
For many, these last three days in Seguin have been described by residents as a sea of white. That’s due to the fleet of white utility trucks being dispatched to every corner of the community. Over 300 company employees, contractors and mutual assistance crews were called in to help expedite the restoration process of turning on the natural gas meters.
Many residents report they weren’t even bothered when receiving a knock on the door late in the evening – many times close to midnight to have their pilot lights turned on.
Customers stayed busy on social media echoing their words of thanks and gratitude for these men and women – some who traveled hours to get here. They praised their professionalism and energy as they clocked in hours from 6 a.m. to midnight to get the job done.
Local customer Shelli Harborth posted, “Our gas is back on! Technician was awesome. He made sure all pilot lights were lit and working properly. He said he came from Houston to help. Sent him away with some homemade cookies.”
The service by these employees had already started late Tuesday, early Wednesday when they had to first visit each customer in order to turn off the gas meters.
Meanwhile, to assist the community and those impacted by the outage of gas service, the city of Seguin is partnering with Guadalupe County and the San Antonio Food Bank to host a Food Distribution Event from 1 to 3 pm on Friday. Residents are encouraged to receive free food by signing up at the following link:freshtrak.com and show up at the Seguin ISD Administration parking lot located at 1221 E. Kingsbury.