Cascade Natural Gas: No cold-snap outages in Bend, Redmond after 2,500 customers were asked to curb use
(Update: Voluntarily curtailment period ends; no outages reported
A few dozen were affected in late January; spokesman cites infrastructure, not supply issue
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – The request by Cascade Natural Gas to about 2,500 Bend and Redmond customers to curtail non-essential use during the latest cold snap may have done the trick, as there was no repeat of last month’s scattered outages during the frigid temperatures of recent days, an official said Sunday.
“I’m happy to report that we had no issues,” spokesman Mark Hanson told NewsChannel 21. “No customers lost service, and on Saturday morning, we sent a follow-up communication to customers, to thank them and let them know they could return to normal usage.”
In the initial message, sent Wednesday, CNG asked those customers “to reduce natural gas usage through Saturday morning,” saying it expects a surge in use due to the single-digit cold again expected in the area.
“This may put stress on natural gas flow, which could affect service,” the notice stated. “You can help by lowering your thermostat as much as you can comfortably manage, minimizing hot water usage and turning off natural gas fireplaces, garage heaters, and any other non-essential appliances that use natural gas.
“With your cooperation, Cascade expects it can maintain service in the area,” the utility said. “If you experience a natural gas outage, please call CNGC customer service at 888-522-1130. We anticipate customers can resume normal usage Saturday afternoon. We will be sure to notify you if circumstances change.”
Hanson said Wednesday a “pressure issue” tied to infrastructure -- not to supply -- led to the recent loss of service by 77 customers – 36 in Redmond and 41 in Bend -- during the late-January cold snap, when, like this past week, much of the area plunged into the single digits overnight.
The areas affected by the January outages did not lose service for long, Hanson said: "Service techs responded to no-service calls and restored service to each customer as the calls came in."
Hanson said the small areas that experienced the outages are “kind of on the edge of our system,” which currently serves about 58,000 Central Oregon customers.
He also said CNG has “three projects in the queue for this summer” in Bend, as they are finalizing permits with the city. Two are fairly small, while a larger, six-inch pipeline is planned for the area that would increase capacity. Some Redmond projects are expected to follow.
“It’s not that we can’t get enough supply” of natural gas in the area, Hanson said, but more “the size of pipe pushing it out.”
The notices covered a broader area of possible impacts than the recent outages. Hanson said they were sent to about 1,600 customers in northwest Bend, about 800 on the west side of Redmond and 120 in southeast Bend that could be affected by outages, if similar problems arise.
“It is rare to do this,” Hanson said.
MDU Resources acquired Cascade Natural Gas in 2007, and Hanson said he’d been with CNG since 2005 and that “I don’t recall anything” like these weather-related issues and notices previously during his time with the company, which serves residents of eight states across the northern tier of the U.S.
