Update: Enbridge completed repairs to the ruptured natural gas pipeline in Smith County over the past weekend, a KUB news release said Monday, returning the pipeline to service.
Customers who had been asked to curtail usage can now return to normal operations, the release said.
"KUB thanks these customers for their assistance during the curtailment period, and for all our customers who participated in our voluntary curtailment request. Working together allowed our community to see minimal impacts from this event."
Original Story: A natural gas pipeline issue in Middle Tennessee could impact gas bills in East Tennessee.
The line ruptured on Dec. 15 in Smith County, cutting off all natural gas from a section of pipeline that serves many utility companies in East Tennessee.
On Dec. 20, a joint press release from utility companies in Jefferson, Knox, Lenoir City, Oak Ridge, Powell, and Sevier County asked customers to reduce their natural gas usage to minimize the impact.
Enbridge Incorporated,, the company the owns the pipeline, told utility companies that the repairs could last into early to mid-January.
"This magnitude of this event is unprecedented for this area. As utilities we all operate independently and will feel the impacts of this event differently, but we are all impacted by this event. The mild weather is helping to lessen the need for natural gas, however, the weather in East Tennessee is always subject to change," the release said.
The release gave the following tips to help reduce residential usage:
- Turn down the thermostats on natural gas heating units and hot water heaters
- Washing laundry in cold water.
- Reduce the usage of natural gas appliances such as fireplace logs and clothes dryers.
- Consider alternative cooking methods.
KUB
The Knoxville Utilities Board said it was actively managing its natural gas supplies from other sources and it is not sure yet how it will impact customers. Officials were meeting internally on Friday at 11 a.m., and we hope to get an update from them this afternoon about any impact on customers.
KUB initially asked its large, commercial customers to conserve. Now they are urging all customers to conserve as much as possible.
"KUB has already coordinated with its large interruptible customers to curtail their use as provided for in their contracts with KUB, and we are actively managing our natural gas supplies from other sources and making use of our natural gas in storage to ensure we can continue providing service to our remaining customers," KUB said in a statement Tuesday.
KUB has 28 large commercial or industrial customers that they have interruptible contracts with. This would not include any residential accounts.
The board said Tuesday that it does not expect natural gas customers to see an increase in rates.
LCUB
LCUB said its prices will go up for 6,300 natural gas customers but officials aren't sure how much or for how long.
“Our first priority is to be as transparent as possible with our LCUB natural gas customers. We do know that rates will be impacted by this pipeline rupture, because Enbridge, our natural gas supplier, is paying more to provide alternative sources,” said LCUB General Manager M. Shannon Littleton. “We cannot specify exactly what the rate increases will look like, because we have not been informed by Enbridge. We also do not know how long these rate increases will be in effect or if the rates will fluctuate over time depending upon the breadth of damage to the pipeline and the length of time it may take to repair it.”
LCUB said fixing the pipeline won't take long but the government investigation into what happened will.
“As it stands right now, there is natural gas supply to LCUB customers and we don’t anticipate any shortage of natural gas in the very near future. If repairs take longer, we will update the media and our customers as to any implications at that time,” LCUB said in a statement to 10News on Friday.
ORUD
Officials with the Oak Ridge Utility District told 10News they do not expect any changes for their customers. They are monitoring the situation and don't think there's any reason to believe there's a chance people will lose natural gas service.
PCUD
Powell/Clinch Utility District officials we talked to do not expect and changes and don't believe there's a chance of their customers losing gas.
SCUD
Officials with the Sevier County Utility District said that rumors of people losing gas in the district are not true, and in fact, no changes to customers are expected.
Jccud
The Jefferson-Cocke County District acknowledged that there is a “remote possibility” that customers could lose gas eventually, if there was colder weather and repairs are delayed. Officials there did not expect that to happen, however. Right now, natural gas pressure is fine and customers are not affected.