Early morning on Wednesday, January 10th, 2018, SaskEnergy identified a significant pressure drop in its natural gas system near Melfort. As a result, approximately 4,500 customers in Melfort, St. Brieux, Kinistino and surrounding rural areas lost natural gas service to their homes and businesses.
SaskEnergy technicians and operators immediately began working to address the issue as quickly as possible. By mid-morning, the source of the pressure drop was identified as a pipeline rupture of a high pressure transmission line between Weldon and Birch Hills. A SaskEnergy construction crew was dispatched to the site, and repairs were completed by 9:00 p.m. that night.
More than 40 trained SaskEnergy Technicians worked door-to-door throughout the affected area over the next 48 hours to restore service, assist customers in relighting and safely restarting their appliances, and perform system safety checks. Restoration of natural gas service was completed by 10:00 p.m. Thursday, January 11th, with Technicians continuing to work in the area into Friday to complete safety checks on the distribution system.
A full investigation is now underway as to the cause of the pipeline rupture.
SaskEnergy would like to thank customers for their patience throughout this process, as well as the City of Melfort, the Town of Kinistino, the Town of St. Brieux and local First Responders for their support.
Customers who think they smell natural gas, or are experiencing natural gas service issues, are asked to contact SaskEnergy’s 24/7 Emergency line at 1-888-700-0427. Additional information about what to do in the event of natural gas service disruption to your home or business can be found on the SaskEnergy website.
For more information, please contact:
Casey MacLeod
Senior Communications Officer
SaskEnergy
Phone: 1-306-777-9722
Cell: 1-306-527-9274
Email