PSC staff says Mountaineer Gas acted appropriately during Charleston gas outage

The staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission says Mountaineer Gas Company acted appropriately in response to a gas outage last fall that left nearly 1,800 people on Charleston’s West Side without gas for about two weeks, and recommends the investigation be closed. 

In a joint memo filed Wednesday, the PSC staff wrote that they have determined “Mountaineer’s maintenance and response were very appropriate and reasonable given the size of the event, and they diligently worked to safely restore gas service.” 

Staff went on to write that the gas company acted according to its emergency and other written procedures and according to federal pipeline safety regulations to address the outage and restore services while “protecting the safety of customers, their employees, and the public.”

The staff’s memorandum is only a recommendation to the state regulatory agency. The Public Service Commission has not yet issued a ruling in the investigation. 

The gas outage was reported Nov. 10, 2023 after officials say a water main break in the area infiltrated 46 miles of gas lines on the West Side. Mountaineer Gas employees had to dig up gas lines at more than 300 locations to clear water from them, according to the PSC staff memo. Workers also went door to door to restore service to customers.

The state Public Service Commission first opened a general investigation into what happened during the outage Nov. 16 at the request of Gov. Jim Justice. The commission dismissed that case Jan. 26 and divided the case between the two respondents, West Virginia American Water and Mountaineer Gas Company. 

In the new case, the Public Service Commission shifted its focus from determining liability between the two companies to “reviewing maintenance practices and whether each utility acted reasonably and had procedures in place during and following the outage, to best serve its customers and the public at large.”

The gas company also filed a lawsuit against West Virginia American Water, alleging it was to blame for the outage and demanding the water company pay the “significant” costs related to restoring gas service as well as costs associated with the civil actions filed in relation to the outage and damages. Charleston law firms Calwell Luce diTrapano and Forbes Law Offices also filed a class action lawsuit against both companies on behalf of affected West Side residents. 

Initially after the outage was reported, residents and officials raised concerns that the companies did not do enough to notify affected customers of the outage. 

Following the outage, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and members of Charleston City Council sent a letter to the Public Service Commission asking that it reject the rate hikes requested by West Virginia American Water and Mountaineer Gas or delay them for residents of the West Side.

In a statement Thursday, Goodwin said that “while the first 24 hours [of the outage] were extremely hectic — from a Mayor’s Office perspective — I do think after [Mountaineer Gas] received more concrete information about what was happening and what had happened, the communication was good.”

Legal staff for the PSC wrote that issues concerning notification of customers would be more suited for resolution in a general investigation the Public Service Commission opened earlier this month into how utility companies notify residents of outages. 

The investigation into the water company’s response is ongoing. The due date for a joint staff memorandum in that case has been extended until July 24. 

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin.