EVERETT — A gas line explosion in British Columbia Tuesday evening sent ripple effects across the border Wednesday and Thursday that reached well into Snohomish County.
Puget Sound Energy, which provides gas and electricity in areas of Western Washington, asked in a social media post Wednesday that customers help conserve natural gas and electricity because of the B.C. pipeline rupture. Hospitals and similar vital institutions were not affected.
PSE has 800,000 customers in the Puget Sound area, including 140,000 gas customers in Snohomish County. Similar requests to cut back usage were sent to gas customers of Canadian utilities.
Meanwhile, Waste Management said there would be no garbage, recycling or compostables collection for many customers Thursday in Snohomish and King counties because the company’s trucks are powered by natural gas. The service curtailment included Mill Creek and some unincorporated areas of Snohomish County — but not the Marysville, Arlington or Granite Falls areas, Waste Management said in a news release.
Puget Sound Energy shut down Everett Community College’s heat and hot water, college officials said. Classes were running as scheduled Wednesday morning with an update expected in the late afternoon.
“Our buildings will hang onto the heat for awhile,” said Katherine Schiffner, an EvCC spokeswoman.
The Enbridge natural gas pipeline that exploded Tuesday evening, about 600 miles northeast of Vancouver, connects to the Northwest Pipeline system, which feeds Puget Sound Energy in Washington and Northwest Natural Gas in Portland.
No one was hurt when a fireball lit up the sky near the community of Shelley, British Columbia, and forced about 100 members of the nearby Lheidli T’enneh First Nation from their homes.
If the gas shortage persists, service to PSE electricity customers might be also curtailed, the utility told The Seattle Times late Wednesday. PSE uses gas to generate some of its electricity. There are no PSE electrical customers in Snohomish County or on Camano Island, which are served by the Snohomish County Public Utility District.
The Associated Press contributed. Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
A message and update about natural gas from our Vice President, Andy Wappler. pic.twitter.com/DXAz63hfmK
— Puget Sound Energy (@PSETalk) October 10, 2018
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