Community Still Without Natural Gas Service

Wednesday, May 9th 2007, 5:58 pm

By: News On 6

Two hundred and fifty homes in Pittsburg County have gone three weeks without hot water or heat. Public Gas Company customers had their service shut off last month, and there is no word on when it will be turned back on. The News On 6â€™s Chris Wright reports residentâ€™s say what started as an inconvenience has become a nightmare.

"Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe it," Pittsburg County resident Andrea Heles said.

Andrea Heles says boiling water to wash clothes, and taking sponge baths in her kitchen sink are getting old. These tasks have become part of her daily routine since the gas was shut off in mid-April.

"I don't think it will get fixed,â€ she said. â€œI live in a third world country; it's called McAlester, Oklahoma."

It's much of the same down the street at Thurman Pitchlynn's home. His hot water heater has also been off for the past three weeks. Pitchlynn was among the 250 homes that lost service when Public Gas Company folded. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission says the owner of the company, Sammy Germany, failed to pay his suppliers. They say he then disappeared, leaving his customers to pay the consequences.

Some other gas companies did step in to help, and for a while, it looked like the situation might be resolved. About two thirds of the home in Pittsburg County had their gas turned on last week, the meters were up and running again, but by this week, they were shut down.

"It's kind of like a teaser. They turned it on for three days, and it went back off again," resident Thurman Pitchlynn said.

Turns out there are problems with the gas lines. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission says crews are doing their best to fix it. Still, officials don't know when, or if, the gas will be restored. Andrea says that explanation is simply not good enough.

"That's what we want. We want answers with deadlines, answers with reality. They don't have them," said Heles.

The Corporation Commission tells The News on 6 that because Sammy Germany is still technically the owner of Public Gas Company transferring ownership to another company could be a lengthy and difficult process. Officials say this is a unique situation, and don't believe it has ever happened in Oklahoma before.

Watch the video: Company Goes Belly Up Leaving A Town Without Natural Gas

Related stories:

4/26/2007 - Pittsburg County Gas Customers Without Service

4/27/2007 - Gas Service To Be Restored