Progress has been made in northeast Mississippi as Atmos Energy crews work to restore gas services to tens of thousands of customers following an explosion that left three injured last week.
On Wednesday, a crew was working to repair a gas leak near Highway 6 and County Road 660 in Lee County when an explosion left roughly 20,000 homes, schools, and businesses with disrupted services. Residents across Tupelo, Guntown, Verona, Saltillo, Brewer, and Plantersville were unable to take hot showers or heat their homes or businesses.
Atmos Energy reported that as of Sunday night, service has been restored to approximately 2,400 customers in the outage area. Restoration efforts resumed at 7 a.m. Monday for customers who have received a notification via text message, per officials.
“When gas service is ready to be restored in your area, we will communicate directly to customers in the affected area with a valid mobile number on file via text message,” a statement from Atmos reads. “Restoration is being conducted in a phased approach that involves identifying and prioritizing areas based on several factors, including identifying critical-needs customers such as hospitals, nursing homes, public safety facilities, and schools.”
Those not currently receiving text alerts from the utility company are encouraged to log into their accounts to set up the notification process. Atmos reminds customers that a resident of the home or an authorized representative of the business who is 18 years of age or older must be present for restoration services to be performed.
In the meantime, those in the impacted area are also urged to be on the lookout for scammers, who shamelessly prey on those in vulnerable situations. Atmos offers the following tips to avoid being scammed:
- Always ask for an employee’s identification badge, which displays their name, photograph, and Atmos Energy logo
- If you suspect an impostor, call Atoms’ Customer Contact Center at (888)286-6700 Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. to verify the employee’s identity and contact local authorities.
- Beware of impostors demanding payment at your door
- Atmos employees will not collect payments in person or by a prepaid debit card, gift card, cryptocurrency, or an unauthorized third-party payment or mobile application.
Further updates on the restoration process will be provided when made available.
