Bathurst, Lithgow, Oberon and Wallerawang will wait weeks for gas reconnections

Around 20,000 connections across Bathurst, Lithgow, Oberon and Wallerawang were affected by the leak in the Young Lithgow pipeline.

While the location of the compromised section was fixed and APA Group reinstated the gas supply to Bathurst on Thursday morning, November 3, each individual connection has to go through a manual relight process.

With around 12,000 to 13,000 connections in Bathurst and only 15 to 20 people in the local gas company's crew - Jemena Limited - it's going to be a few weeks before all points are reconnected.

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"Essentially what we need to do is conduct what we call a relight process," a Jemena Limited spokesperson said.

"So we need to physically attend every site that is connected to the gas network and do some make-safe activities where we ensure that there's no gas in the pipeline, close the valve and then relight that gas connection.

"That is going to take us some time to do. So we're talking weeks before we can get everybody back on supply."

While reinforcements from Sydney are making their way to Bathurst, there is still a lot more connections that need attention compared to feet on the ground.

A Jemena spokesperson said the company is currently exploring the option of receiving additional support from the local State Emergency Services (SES) and Rural Fire Services (RFS), but that hasn't yet been confirmed.

"We're trying to get as many boots on the ground as we can but obviously there's many more houses than people who are able to do the work," the spokesperson said.

"We're working to bring people on the ground as quickly as we can."

Vulnerable customers are urged to contact Jemena Limited or the local emergency services with any welfare concerns.

Jemena is aware of the cold snap and weather conditions Bathurst and the surrounding regions are currently facing.

"We're encouraging people to check on their loved ones, check on their neighbours, do those welfare checks, reach out to us and reach out to emergency services as well," the spokesperson said.

"For those customers who are vulnerable, we're asking them to contact us so we can look to reprioritise and get them connected."

The cause of the leak was a result of the significant flooding in regional NSW, with the compromised section located along the Macquarie River on private property, away from public access.

As of early afternoon on Thursday, November 3, APA Group had not reinstated the gas supply to Oberon, Lithgow or Wallerawang. Only Bathurst.

The Jemena spokesperson said the company can only perform the relight process once the gas supply has been reinstated.

However, because the other affected towns are smaller than Bathurst, the process won't take as long.

The leakage has had a huge ripple effect on the region, with multiple businesses affected and unable to operate to full capacity, or even at all.

Many hospitality and fast-food venues were closed on Thursday, November 3, or running with a reduced menu due to not being able to cook without the natural gas supply.

Other businesses like hairdressers, who rely on the gas supply for hot water, were also impacted.

Further updates can be found on the Jemena Facebook page.

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