Columbia Gas Releases Update on Repairs

Columbia Gas Press Release 12:30 pm

Columbia Gas continues work to restore service to approximately 600 customers affected by a natural gas outage on the south side of Zanesville. Getting electric service restored is our first priority. We are working as quickly as we can so that AEP can restore electric service hopefully today.

Yesterday, we were performing work related
to our low pressure system safety enhancement program. During this work,
we believe an equipment malfunction occurred. Out of an abundance of caution,
Columbia Gas made the decision to shut down our system to ensure the safety
of our customers. As our investigation continues we are committed to providing
information as it becomes available.  

Once electric service is restored, we
will focus on getting gas service restored which will involve the following
steps:

· Shut off gas service to all affected
homes. We have been completing this step during safety checks.

· Remove air from our system and reintroduce
natural gas.

· Perform another safety check of the
gas appliances at each house.

· Additional crews are being deployed
from throughout the state to assist with these efforts. Columbia Gas crews
will work around the clock throughout the weekend to do this work and will
restore gas service as soon as possible.

Updates will be made as available on
the Columbia Gas website at ColumbiaGasOhio.com, via Twitter @columbiagasohio,
and on Facebook.