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Mass. regulators put restrictions on NiSource utility after gas leak

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Mass. regulators put restrictions on NiSource utility after gas leak

State regulators have barred Columbia Gas of Massachusetts from performing most construction work within its service territory until it receives explicit approval, placing new restrictions on the NiSource Inc. subsidiary after the company discovered deficiencies in its Merrimack Valley disaster restoration project.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has "significant" concerns in light of "several troubling issues" related to the work, one of which directly contributed to a large gas leak, Public Utilities Commission Chairman Matthew Nelson said in an Oct. 3 letter to Columbia Gas. The state agency recently opened investigations into the yearlong restoration project after finding that aspects of the work did not comply with state and federal regulations or company procedures.

"As a result, and to ensure commitment to a safe distribution system, the department hereby requires that, unless the department explicitly approves specific requests to complete other work, Columbia Gas shall perform only emergency work on its gas distribution system throughout its service territories," Nelson said.

The chairman told Columbia Gas that the Department of Public Utilities anticipates it will approve service connections and heating supply conversions, but he instructed the company to submit requests to perform the work promptly. Columbia Gas must also notify the department and any municipality in its service territory when it plans to do work in the area, he said.

The restrictions do not apply to ongoing work to address the issues that gave rise to the Department of Public Utilities' concerns.

Investigators traced a Sept. 27 gas leak in Lawrence, Mass., to a gas valve that Columbia Gas failed to disable during restoration work. The failure prompted the Department of Public Utilities to open a formal investigation. The restoration project followed a series of gas fires and explosions on the company's system that killed one person and damaged or destroyed 131 buildings in the Merrimack Valley in 2018.

The Department of Public Utilities opened another probe two weeks earlier after Columbia Gas reported workers did not properly abandon a pair of service lines in Lawrence and Andover, Mass., during restoration work.