Natural Gas Service Restoration

We ask that customers report all gas emergencies to their local fire department and by calling our toll-free emergency hotline: 1-866-900-4115.1-866-542-3547.1-866-900-4460.

Natural gas has a proven record of safety and accidents are relatively rare. But sometimes Mother Nature, accidents or other unforeseen circumstances can disrupt gas service without warning. There are several steps involved in the restoration process. Unitil is committed to restoring your natural gas service as quickly and as safely as possible. We employ state-of-the-art monitoring equipment and are continuously improving our infrastructure to ensure safety and reliability. Regular surveying of the system helps us to locate leaks and repair damage before they become an emergency situation. In these instances, repairs are made to affected areas without interruption of service to our customers. We respond to every reported gas issue with a trained team of technicians who will assess the problem and determine the best course of action for repair. Most issues are isolated to individual locations and can be resolved with a routine service call. 

However, occasionally more serious issues are discovered which require service interruption and larger scale repairs. During gas restoration, there are multiple steps that require close cooperation between Unitil and our customers to ensure a safe and efficient repair. In large-scale interruptions, natural gas supply must be turned off to the affected areas to ensure public safety and allow us to fix the problem.

How We Restore Gas Service

Step 1 - Ensure Safety

First, we evacuate any residents if necessary. Evacuation typically lasts only a few hours. Our objective is to make the situation safe as soon as possible so residents can return to their homes. Owners of buildings with meters inside will need to contact Unitil to arrange access to the building. If safety is an issue, this process may be expedited with the help of the local fire department.

Step 2 - Isolate & Repair

Next, we isolate the point of the leak and shut off gas service in the affected areas, if necessary, and confirm that all meters are turned off.  After we confirm that service has been shut off, we make needed repairs. This most often involves a small street excavation along the damaged gas main which can be repaired in just a few hours. More extensive damage can require replacement of the main.

Step 3 - Relight Process

Once repairs are made, we begin the process of relighting all affected customers, going from house to house to relight the pilot light in each location. This personal check may occur within a few hours of the interruption, or it may take longer, as each affected customer must be present in order for a relight to occur. If a customer is not home, we leave a door tag so the customer can contact us for a follow-up visit to relight their pilot.

Although they are rare, during large-scale interruptions, we provide regular updates of our progress through our toll-free number, 1-888-301-7700. Keeping our natural gas system safe is our top priority. Our gas control and monitoring center offices operate 24-hours a day, seven days a week. We regularly patrol our pipeline, conduct regular inspections of our system and invest millions of dollars each year in pipeline replacements and upgrades each year. In addition, we work with emergency responders to prepare them with how to respond in case of emergency.

Watch a short animation on how we restore your natural gas service.