National Grid Gas Outage In Newport, Rhode Island Governor Declares Emergency

Gov. Gina Raimondo declared a state of emergency in Newport County in Rhode Island late Monday after more than 7,000 National Grid customers lost their gas service. A low-pressure issue was reported just before noon Monday near Old Mill Lane in Portsmouth and concerns increased as temperatures were in single digits.

"If you do not have heat this evening, do not stay in your homes overnight," Raimondo said during a press conference Monday night. "This is a major event...we all have to help each other."

A National Grid official said the issue was repaired, and service is being restored to several hundred residents in Middletown. However, gas service was cut to over 6,700 Newport customers for safety reasons. President of National Grid in Rhode Island Tim Horan said the problem stems from a lack of transmission supply from their natural gas supplier, Algonguin Gas Transmission Co.

"This appears to be a lack of gas transmission supply to our system," Horan reportedly said. "The system is stable at this time. We have folks out in the area in Newport, Portsmouth and Middletown checking on our customers."

The city of Newport said on its Facebook page that while "National Grid will be deploying roughly 1,000 crew members to bring the system back online, residents are cautioned that this is expected to be a multi-day event."

"Service technicians will be required to visit every customer meter to suspend service. Those technicians will return to re-establish service once the system has been safely and reliably restored," the statement read.

Authorities announced that a warming shelter has been set up at Gaudet Middle School in Aquidneck Avenue in Middletown and another warming shelter has been set up at the University of Rhode Island's Memorial Union, with overflow going to the Ryan Center.

In case there are any residents who are unable to evacuate on their own, they must call 211 for assistance in getting transportation. According to Raimondo, the local National Guard has been deployed to the area and will be on call to assist with evacuations. Residents can also call a ride-sharing service such as Uber or Lyft, and National Grid will reimburse customers later for the expense. National Grid will also reimburse anyone affected who stays at a hotel.

"If you have heat, please, call your loved ones, your church members, anyone in the area, offer for them to stay over at your house . Make sure they have a warm place to stay tonight," Raimondo urged during her news conference.

Newport Public Schools will be closed Tuesday due to the ongoing gas outages.

"The school department will keep families updated as best as possible Tuesday regarding any future school closures," the school district said in a statement Monday evening.