TECO gas leak does not affect island businesses, chamber says
On Monday, the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce sent out a mass e-mail concerning the natural gas leak that occurred on Nov. 11, reporting that all Sanibel and Captiva Island properties and restaurants have been unaffected by the disruption in service.
In addition, several chamber member properties, including Residence Inn Fort Myers/Sanibel, Marriott Sanibel Harbor Resort, Country Inn & Suites – Sanibel Gateway, Lighthouse Waterfront Restaurant – Port Sanibel Marina and Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa on Fort Myers Beach are operating with full service.
According to the Lee County Emergency Operations Center and a communication from TECO People’s Gas, on Monday crews and additional personnel continued making progress in restoring gas to customers throughout the Fort Myers and Naples area. The need to restore gas in the region is a result of a heavy-equipment operator that does not work for Peoples Gas damaging an eight-inch natural gas line.
Last Thursday’s break resulted in a loss of natural gas service to more than 6,000 residential and 1,200 commercial customers in Lee and Collier counties.
While the utility has stated that restoration of natural gas service may take up to one week to complete, they are working around the clock to
“I would like to personally thank our customers in Lee County and Collier County for their patience while we work to safely restore their gas service,” said Gordon Gillette, president of Peoples Gas. “Our focus is on visiting every location to re-light the pilot lights and restore service by Thursday or Friday of this week.”
As of 7 a.m. on Monday, service had been restored to about 750 commercial customers and about 850 residential customers affected by the loss of natural gas service.
The priority order in restoring service for Peoples Gas customers is:
• Critical facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other emergency service facilities
• Commercial customers, such as resorts, hotels and restaurants
• Residential customers.
Peoples Gas is committed to keeping their customers updated, so stay tuned to www.peoplesgas.com for the latest available information.