State regulators have weighed in on a gas outage that affected more than 1,000 customers in Charleston’s West Side late last year. While findings from an investigation conducted by the West Virginia Public Service Commission found utility response efforts to be adequate, regulators have outlined recommendations to improve customer service.
Investigators found the impacted water line was replaced in 1989 and was expected to have a lifespan of 70 to 100 years. There were no known issues with it. Investigators reported the water main was fixed in under 16 hours, but valves on Florida Street had been paved over, requiring operators to shut down service additional customers. Eyewitness News reported that the water company has established a one-year window to restore access to values that had been blocked by paving projects, a policy regulators suggested be shortened. The PSC also recommended the water company develop maintenance standards that are specific to operations in West Virginia.