CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — West Virginia American Water’s response to the November 2023 West Side gas crisis was “reasonable,” according to final memorandums released by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia.

On Jan. 26, the PSC split an investigation into WVAW and Mountaineer Gas and their responses to the gas crisis on Charleston’s West Side that began on Nov. 10, 2023 . This was when a water main break flooded 46 miles of gas line at Beatrice and Madison Street.

After the incident, customers on Charleston’s West Side were without both gas and water, but water services were restored shortly after.

While water services were restored, the gas lines had to be flushed, dried and restored. The process left thousands of people on Charleston’s West Side without natural gas services throughout the Thanksgiving holiday, leaving some without heat, hot water and a way to cook a meal.

The PSC said in the final joint staff memorandum that the staff, the Commissioner’s Engineering Division and the Legal Division found “no indication of systemic failure of [the WVAW] to maintain its water distribution facilities on the West Side of Charleston.”

The Public Service Commission also found WVAW’s maintenance and operation procedures “are adequate to ensure safe, reliable and reasonably continuous service to their customers, subject to the implementation of the Staff recommendations,” according to the memorandums.

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They give West Virginia American Water three recommendations: review their internal hand-off policies during shift changes, prioritize reestablishment of access to paved-over valves, and develop system maintenance standards that are West Virginia specific, according to the memo.

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