Natural gas meter damaged in Grant

Natural gas service was restored to a customer in Grant after a brief service interruption on Sunday, Oct. 28. 

Black Hills Energy crews worked with various agencies including the Grant Volunteer Fire Department, Midwest Electric and Great Plains Communications to safely restore service after technicians were forced to shut down natural gas service due to a vehicle damaging a meter in a residential neighborhood in Grant.

 “Safety is our number one priority for our customers, the community and our team members,” stated Justin Gould, operations manager for Black Hills Energy. “To safely facilitate repairs, the fire department evacuated the adjacent home, had electric services shut off and kept unnecessary traffic from entering the neighborhood until the damaged system was repaired.”

“We appreciate all of the agencies who responded to help us secure the scene, make sure that all the utility lines were marked and give the Black Hills Energy team what they needed to safely repair their facilities damaged in the accident,” stated Don Softley, GVFD fire chief.

 Three residences were evacuated and monitored. 

Black Hills Energy offers the following natural gas safety tips:

• Natural gas originally has no odor; and it’s invisible. For safety, a harmless, stinky odorant called mercaptan is added. It smells like rotten eggs so a gas leak can be easily detected.

Those who think they smell natural gas should:

• Get everyone out of the building immediately – leave the door open after exiting.

• Once outside, call 911 or Black Hills Energy’s 24-hour emergency number: 800-694-8989.

• When leaving, don’t turn on or off light switches, electrical appliances, use phones or open or close doors and windows. A spark of electricity could ignite a leak.

• Wait well away from the building for emergency personnel.