Crews work to restore gas service in Woburn Wednesday. (Kim Tunnicliffe/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)
WOBURN (WBZ-AM) -- National Grid now says it should have most of the 300 homes that lost gas in Woburn back on by Wednesday night, more than 48 hours after a crew overpressurized a line by mistake. The company said the last few homes would have service again by Thursday morning at the latest.
One by one, those affected were turning their stoves and hot showers back on throughout the day--a day earlier than the original target.
Louis Neves was one of the first customers to get his gas back Wednesday morning. He told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe it sure felt good to shower in his own home again.
"They assured me that everything is going well, that they are introducing the gas into the gas line a little at a time," he said. "They came into my house, they turned my meter back on, they re-lit all my pilots."
Neves said being without gas has really made him empathize with the residents of the Merrimack Valley, where gas fires and explosions last month left damage to gas lines that likely won't be repaired until next month.
"We were inconvenienced for two or three days, and it was unpleasant," he said. "I can't imagine what they're going through."
Resident Steve Russo said he's satisfied overall about how the company handled the situation, but said there's been a lot of conflicting information.
"It's confusing stories," he said. "Originally we heard it was managerial staff that was taking care of the work, then I've heard it was technicians. Well, the difference between technicians and managerial can be quite a difference. I don't know if they were just flinging stuff around to keep the people happy or not."
National Grid president Marcy Reed said the mistake had nothing to do with the 1,200 workers locked out since summer over a contract dispute.
"Mistakes do happen," she said, insisting that the replacement workers were just as qualified as the locked out employees. "Sadly, we're all human, and mistakes were made."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports