Not all of the Northeast natural gas distribution companies survived Superstorm Sandy unscathed. National Grid, the largest gas distributor in the region, reported that parts of its system sustained heavy damages.

In portions of Westerly, RI, “the natural gas system was heavily damaged by coastal flooding,” the utility said. It noted that it is developing a plan to rebuild that part of its system. The company did not provide any further details.

In addition, National Grid said it was restoring natural gas service to customers in Newport, RI, after temporarily suspending service there Tuesday as a precautionary measure while the system was evaluated to ensure it had not been compromised by the storm. It noted that Newport, RI, customers would have natural gas service restored as electricity is restored.

As Sandy drew close to the East Coast Monday, National Grid said it experienced “scattered natural gas outages” in several New York City boroughs, including Brooklyn, Staten Island and on Long Island. “We are [now] assessing homes” in those neighborhoods, as well as Queens, the utility said.

Other Northeast distributors came through the storm in better shape. New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) appears to have survived the heavy winds and flood waters without any major gas outages or damages to its system, said spokeswoman Renee Amellio. However, she noted that flood waters have prevented crews from accessing some coastal areas of the NJNG service territory.

Wall, NJ-based NJNG supplies natural gas to a little more than 500,000 customers in the southern, central and northern parts of the state (see Daily GPI, Oct. 31).

A spokesman for New Haven, CT-based United Illuminating Co., which owns Southern Connecticut Gas, Bridgeport Gas and Connecticut Gas, said the company’s gas utilities were not experiencing “any issues” at the moment. “There are certainly flooding issues that have happened across the state, but it hasn’t impacted our ability to provide gas service,” he said.

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