AusNet apologises for gas shortages last week

AUSNET Services has “sincerely apologised” for gas shortages in Torquay, Jan Juc and Barwon Heads during last week’s cold snap but says it is already working on a way to fix the issue, though it will not be ready until winter next year.
Demand on the gas network peaks on especially cold days, such as Tuesday last week, and some people in Torquay, Jan Juc and Barwon Heads reported interruptions to their supply.
The same problem occurred in the three towns during June 2019.
An AusNet spokesman said the issue occurred in the towns as they were at the fringe of the gas network, and the company was “incredibly sorry for the inconvenience”.
“To address this issue we’re currently working on a major augmentation project in the area which is anticipated to be completed prior to winter 2021.
“The project includes a 4km extension of the existing AusNet Services Transmission Pipeline. Once this is complete, it will boost the gas supply to “the fringe parts of the network in Torquay and Barwon Heads, improving the experience for these customers.
The spokesperson said AusNet Services would monitor the network closely while the pipeline was extended and “implement temporary fixes to secure supply as much as possible until the large augmentation project is complete.
“These temporary measures include adjustments to the regulator schedules and pressure settings to allow more capacity of gas flow during peak periods.
“We would like to sincerely apologise to these customers and thank them for their patience while we complete the network upgrades”.