Hundreds of workers with Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc. (Con Ed) and other companies are reportedly working around the clock to restore natural gas service to approximately 4,300 customers in New York City’s Upper Manhattan.

Gas service was knocked out to parts of the Hamilton Heights and Upper Harlem neighborhoods after a city water main ruptured and fractured a 12-inch diameter gas main in Hamilton Heights on Aug. 12. About 8,200 customers within a 12-block radius of the break were affected.

Con Ed said gas service had been restored to more than 3,900 customers on Thursday. The company said workers — including those from Con Ed’s Orange & Rockland Utilities (O&R), Public Service Electric & Gas Co. (PSE&G) and National Grid — had pumped nearly 22,000 gallons of water from gas mains as part of the recovery effort.

Newark, NJ-based PSE&G said Con Ed asked for its assistance on Monday. The utility sent 53 of its employees to Manhattan on Wednesday to help with the restoration. They are expected to be on the scene until at least Sunday.

Con Ed said it hopes to have gas service restored to most customers by Wednesday.

Con Ed spokesman Kevin Kelly said workers would need access to every building and apartment in the affected area in order to restore service safely.

“We will need to go to every building and shut off the curb valves, then get into the building and shut off the head of service valves,” Kelly said. “We’ll then check the gas meters. If they have water in them, we’ll have to remove the meters and put new meters in. Then we’ll have to go to every single apartment, every single floor, and every single neighbor and shut down all the appliances in every single building.”

Mercedes Padilla, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, told NGI on Thursday that the utility had restored water to all of its customers by the morning of last Saturday.

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