National Grid Gas Leak Problem
Hi folks, long time lurker and first time poster here that would greatly appreciate your insight/advice on an on going problem I’m experiencing with National Grid. On multiple occasions I’ve smelled gas in my basement and in front of my house. I’ve called them, they’ve come out and upon inspection have confirmed that gas was…
Hi folks, long time lurker and first time poster here that would greatly appreciate your insight/advice on an on going problem I’m experiencing with National Grid. On multiple occasions I’ve smelled gas in my basement and in front of my house. I’ve called them, they’ve come out and upon inspection have confirmed that gas was leaking from the street into my home. They alleged to have repaired the problem but the problem persists. They’ve gone so far as to dig a huge hole in my front yard (needless to say they cannot confirm when they will be back to fill the hole), they brought workmen to my street to rip up the street to get to the problem and yet the problem persists. What if any is my course of action with National Grid to get them to address the problem on a larger scale to truly fix the problem. Constantly smelling gas in front of my home is leaving me with an unsettling feeling and of course leaves me concerned for the safety and well being of myself and my family and my adjacent neighbors. Is there some other action I should be taking to get National Grid to address this issue and truly fix the problem?
Update: I contacted The Public Service Commission and it worked like a charm. I cannot believe how responsive National Grid was after filing a complaint. Thus far the gas odor has not returned since Friday but providing it does I will continue to use The Public Svc Commission and 911 if necessary.
Thanks to all for your sound advice.
We had a problem of smelling what we thought was gas in front of our building. It turned out to be an oil smell. There’s a gas station on the next block. They are for sure (illegally) hosing down oil spills. This caused water to go in through our sewer drain (containing oil) and that was the cause of our frequent smells out front. Just a thought that this might be your situation as well.
I will offer this anicdotal:
I used to live in East Harlem. The sewer drain / grate would constantly let of very “stinky” steam. any call to coned would result in a truck coming out 4-5 days later. Watever fix they did would last at most a week and then the very noxious cloud would return. Amounting complaints did nothing to fix this problem. Finally I called 911 and described “smokey looking stuff that smells funny coming out of the sewer drain/grate,” immediate firetruck response, coned was on the scene in half hour and after a day of work the problem was fixed and never came back.
Read into this how you will.
Thanks guys. I will try all of the above and re-post the outcome.
I was gonna suggest something less draconian, like calling FDNY directly rather than 911, but this flyer
http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/safety/fire_safety_education/2010_02/14_natural_gas_english.pdf
says “Never hesitate to
CALL 911
if you smell gas!”
The Public Service Commission would be less draconian and might move NG to fix the problem.
Thanks Arkady. I just them to effectively address the problem. They had the audacity to tell my tenant that the gas we smell outside is not a a “big enough” problem yet for them to re-address it yet.
Agree, or, call the fire department to check it out. Give NG someone other than yourself to be accountable to. Good luck.
Somewhat draconian but that may be called for – phone 911.