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Gas Outage Update: Oberon, Lithgow, Wallerawang, and Bathurst

Nov 7, 2022

As at 1:30 PM, Monday, 7 November 2022

Restoration Status

Area

Status

Oberon
  • Jemena completed all make-safe work in Oberon yesterday (Sunday, 6 November).
  • Customers in Oberon, with the exception of the Oberon Hospital, life support, and other vulnerable customers, have had their gas supply suspended. This is a necessary safety precaution ahead of ongoing gas supply being reinstated.

Wallerawang
  • Jemena crews will be in Wallerawang today, and plan to complete all make-safe work by this evening (Monday, 7 November).

Lithgow
  • Jemena crews will continue work in Lithgow today, and plan to complete all make-safe work by this evening (Monday, 7 November).
  • Jemena crews are also working with APA to temporarily restore gas supply to Lithgow Hospital in the next few days.

Bathurst
  • About 50 per cent of all Bathurst homes and businesses have had their gas supply restored.
  • All aged care facilities, Meals on Wheels providers, other welfare support centres and the local swimming pool have had gas restored.
  • Jemena crews are aiming to complete all reconnections in the  remaining Bathurst areas in the coming days.

Temporary gas solution (Oberon, Wallerawang, and Lithgow)
  • APA anticipates the first temporary gas solution for communities in Oberon, Wallerawang and Lithgow will be in place by Friday, 11 November which will provide limited gas supply to parts of these communities.
  • Jemena will then be able to connect some customers, prioritising hospitals, aged care facilities, other community facilities, and life support and other vulnerable customers, which will take up to an additional week.
  • APA is also working on a second temporary solution, which involves building a temporary pipeline which would enable full gas supply for all customers to be reinstated into the Wallerawang, Lithgow, and Oberon areas. APA is aiming to put this in place by early next week.
  • After the temporary solution has been established, Jemena will commence the process of reconnecting customers which is expected to take another week for all customers to be reconnected.

Key contacts

Welfare assistance – 137 788
Gas emergencies – 131 909

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Over the weekend, Jemena crews have restored gas to more than 50 per cent of Bathurst homes and businesses, and work is advancing on temporary solutions for gas supply to Lithgow, Oberon, and Wallerawang.

We wish to thank local communities for their continued patience and cooperation during this challenging time, as well as the efforts of emergency services and council workers in supporting our crews to make the gas network safe and restore gas where we can.

We have mobilised additional crews from across Australia to progress this work as quickly as possible.

For more information about the temporary solutions being implemented with APA: https://www.apa.com.au/gas-supply-update/

For our Bathurst customers, where crew are unable to access a property, a calling card will be left behind. We ask that our customers follow the instructions on the calling card to have their gas service restored.

If Bathurst residents think their property may have accidentally been missed in the relighting process – if their neighbours have had gas restored, and no card has been left – please phone Jemena on 131 909.   

Safety advice

Fire and Rescue NSW advises:

  • Outdoor cookers, BBQ’ and heaters, particularly those with charcoal beads, give off poisonous Carbon Monoxide gas and should never be used inside homes.
  • Petrol-powered pumps, outdoor heaters or generators should not be used indoors due to the deadly CO gases that are produced.
  • Carbon Monoxide is a colourless, tasteless and odourless gas that can build up in rooms and overwhelm people without warning, leading to death.
  • Don’t risk your safety or that of your loved ones, keep them safe by leaving outdoor heat sources outside.

Jemena advises:

  • Please do not touch the gas infrastructure at your property (including meters and valves). Please do not remove any tags or markers attached to your gas infrastructure.
  • Please switch off your gas appliances.
  • When the gas has been safely re-established to your area, Jemena will visit your property to perform a check and let you know it is safe. If you are not home, we will leave a calling card advising you of next steps.

If residents have safety concerns, please reach out to us on 131 909 or in an emergency, phone 000.

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