A recent Public Service Commission (PSC) order sheds light on National Grid’s failure to promptly shut off gas and power following a car crash last year in Madison County, which led to a deadly house explosion. The PSC, which made the order public on Friday, outlined the utility’s missteps in the early hours of September 9, 2023. The commission and the company reached a $1 million settlement over the incident.
The investigation revealed that it took National Grid four hours to cut off the gas and power to the home after the crash, even though the explosion occurred three hours after the collision. A teenager had crashed a stolen car into the house at 532 W. Elm St. in Oneida, severing the gas line and causing natural gas to fill the residence.
National Grid’s policies dictate that electrical devices and other ignition sources should be turned off immediately following a gas leak, but the company failed to follow these procedures in this case.
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