RRC Launches Investigation into Service Issues with Gas Distribution Operator Atmos Mid-Tex

AUSTIN – The Railroad Commission on Tuesday, Dec. 27, launched an investigation on the performance of Atmos Energy, Mid-Tex Division’s gas distribution system during last week’s Winter Storm Elliott.

On Friday, Dec. 23, Atmos cited low pressure as the reason customers in parts of Texas experienced gas service issues at their homes.

The RRC was in immediate communication with Atmos and directed the company to quickly resolve the issue which included the company bringing in additional technicians to affected areas and adding call center staff to answer calls from impacted residents. The RRC also posted updates on social media to keep Atmos’ customers informed.

By the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Atmos reported that pressure had returned to normal throughout its system.

Given RRC’s concern, on Tuesday, the Commission issued a request to Atmos Energy to provide a full account of the details of what occurred. Those include:

• a detailed account of the number and location of customers whose service was negatively impacted and the duration of such impact
• detailed explanations of the cause of low pressure or other issues negatively impacting natural gas service in each location
• status and data of pipeline and system capacity to meet demand growth in the areas
• Atmos’ plan to address the issues so that interruptions to natural gas service will not occur again in the future, with estimated costs and timeline to remedy the cause.

Affected Atmos customers deserve answers, and the RRC will work to ensure that.