A number of homeowners and renters have recently had to flee their own homes in search for alternative shelter.  The issue is a shortage of natural gas supply in the area.  That supply is supposed to feed a number of local homes and buildings.  The shortage has resulted in several homes being without heat, hot water, and without the use of gas-fueled appliances.  Obviously, at this time of the year, especially, this is a significant problem and makes the homes uninhabitable.

The situation may not have been entirely avoided because the problems exist in the main line supplying natural gas to the residents in that area, but it could have been detected earlier.  That may have allowed the homeowners to make better plans for temporary relocation.  These issues could have been detectedsooner if there had proper flow meters installed in the gas supply line, that which was feeding those 24 residential homes.

A properly installed KrohneOptiswirl 4070 Vortex flowmeter could have alerted the distribution company that there was a problem. Rather than the distribution company having to react to the customers’ complaints of no heat and no hot water, the distribution company could have alerted them that there would be a problem, and that provisions were being made to help them out.  This, of course, would have helped the residents prepare, but also would have given the authorities more time to make special arrangements for those impacted.

Along with the flow meter, a pressure meter installed in the main would have also provided indication that there was an issue in that supply branch.  Again, this would have allowed the distributor to notify the residents that an issue had been noted, and that it would cause heating problems in the area. The NoShok 621/622 explosion proof pressure transmitter would be a good option for this problem.