State Steps In To Help Pawnee County Communities Facing Gas Shortage

A gas shortage has people in Jennings and Hallett struggling to keep warm in freezing weather.

After nearly two days of residents going without gas, a special natural gas tanker truck arrived in Jennings late Wednesday night. The truck was sent by the state to refill the city's empty lines.

Boiled down to the simplest terms, the lack of gas both cities are experiencing is a supply and demand problem.

President of Keystone Gas, Rick Sellers, runs the pipelines supplying gas to heat homes in Pawnee County. The only problem is, he said there isn't enough gas to go around.

"When you're already running at reduced capabilities then you have a weather event like we just had, and is continuing, that further complicates the situation," Sellers said. "The producers are having a hard time keeping their wells running, and that reduces what's available to me as a pipeline operator."

Recent ice storms mean the local wells that supply the town are frozen and roads have been so bad crews can't get out to fix them.

Jennings Mayor Kevin Wright said the state stepped in to help with gas trucks as a temporary fix.

"Once we're through the cold spell, Blue Flame will probably have enough gas to supply us right now," Wright said. "It's just the exceptional cold temperature that is causing an issue right now."

The gas tanker should last the city around a week. If it runs out before the supply wells can run again, another tanker will be ordered to replace it.