10-11-2018
8:29 a.m. PDT: Cascade Natural Gas says business and residential customers can go back to normal usage as the supply of natural gas increases.
The utility says industrial users can return to normal operations over Thursday and Friday.
BELLEVUE, Wash. — The effects of Tuesday’s natural gas pipeline rupture in B.C. north of Prince George are rippling through the Pacific Northwest as refineries adjust operations and customers are urged to conserve natural gas.
The Enbridge pipeline, which supplies Puget Sound Energy and Cascade Natural Gas, ruptured Tuesday evening creating a massive fire, but no one was hurt and nothing besides the pipeline was damaged.
Both PSE and CNG are asking customers to curb their natural gas usage, while some industrial customers like the Shell and Marathon refineries in Anacortes and Phillips 66 in Ferndale, deal with the effects of a limited supply.
Meanwhile, petroleum analysts expect gas prices to skyrocket by up to thirty cents per gallon.
Reuters reports Enbridge is working to restart operations on a smaller adjacent pipeline that wasn’t damaged so at least some of the supply can be restored.