Efforts to restore gas to the last of almost 2,000 homes cut off after a pipeline was damaged at the weekend are still being made four days later.
The supply to large parts of the west of Herne Bay was lost when a gas main in Cornwall Road, Greenhill, was ruptured by a “third party” on Saturday afternoon.
Gas firm SGN initially listed a handful of streets impacted as it began emergency repair work.
But the number of homes affected quickly grew, with it eventually reported that 1,750 properties had been impacted by the issue.
Many lost their gas supply completely, while others were asked to turn theirs off if they lived in one of the dozens of streets published by SGN on its website.
A help centre was set up at St Peter’s Church in Greenhill, where electric heaters and hot plates were handed out to vulnerable families struggling to keep warm or cook in their own homes.
One pensioner in Cornwall Road, who asked not to be named, told KentOnline SGN had attempted to deliver an electric heater to her home at 1.30am on Sunday.
“We had a Ring doorbell notification, but no heater was
left,” she said.”It’s been freezing. My husband is asthmatic so he struggles a little more with the cold.
“We’ve got a small electric fire in the living room so we’ve been huddled up in there.
“Luckily I bought an electric blanket two weeks ago, which has proved to be the best investment.
“But we’ve not heard anything at all about what is happening and when the supply
might be on.”
Thornden Wood Primary School and Herne Bay High were also impacted by the issue, with both closed to pupils on Monday.
By 7.30pm on Sunday, repairs to the gas main had been completed and SGN started the monumental task of visiting all homes affected to reconnect their supply.
It told residents it would “need to restore supplies strategically to ensure the security and integrity of the network”.
By 1pm on Monday, it had reconnected 400 properties, and by 8pm the same day 850 had their supply back.
Efforts continued throughout yesterday, and by 7pm engineers had whittled the list down to 382 homes.
The latest update was at 9.30am today, when SGN said the “majority” of homes had been reconnected.
“However, some properties are still without gas because we were unable to gain access when we visited,” it said.
It urges those whose supply has yet to be restored to call 0800 912 1717.
It has also told anyone who has been left without gas that they will receive £70 compensation for every 24-hour period they were cut off.
Efforts were made to seek a response from the “third party” widely reported to have damaged the gas pipe but repeated requests for comment have gone unanswered.
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