Gas leak fully repaired, industrial operations back at full capacity

REPAIRS to the leak on the 56-inch gas line are now complete, and industrial plant operations are returning to full capacity. This according to Minister of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communication, Vasant Bharath in a statement on Saturday afternoon.

Earlier this week, a leak was discovered in the cross-island gas line and the National Gas Company (NGC) immediately intervened to commence evacuation and repair work. The company was bound by safety standards to ensure the line was fully depressurised before commencing evacuation and repair efforts.

As a result of the gas-line leakage, the supply of natural gas to Trinidad Generation Unlimited (TGU) had to be curtailed. In order to avoid power interruptions for residential and commercial customers, the Trinidad & Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) undertook alternate measures by taking fifteen large industrial customers and 200 recreation grounds off the supply grid.

Minister Bharath said that by Saturday, the location of the leak was found at the Picton valve station and fully repaired. Industrial plants were advised to bring their operations back online and assurances were given that all recreation grounds would be fully lit by evening.

The Minister added that the NGC was still at work ensuring that the gas lines were fully re-pressurised to ensure that industrial customers have a full gas supply as they return to normal capacity.

Adding that citizens are always encouraged to “take a conservation approach” with the use of electric power, the Minister assured that with natural gas supplies returning to normal and industrial plants returning to capacity operations, there was now no immediate threat to power supplies across Trinidad & Tobago.

The Minister commended the staff of T&TEC and the NGC for their quick and diligent work in resolving the problem, and thanked citizens for their patience while work was undertaken in the last three days.
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Ministry of Communication