Natural gas service returns in southeast St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG — Monday morning, only 40 of the hundreds of homes that lost natural gas over the weekend were still without service. But they can have their gas restored with a phone call, a spokesman said.

Rick Morera, a spokesman for TECO Peoples Gas, said rainwater had seeped into a natural gas pipeline, requiring the utility to cut service about 1 p.m. Saturday. Morera said 371 customers in an area from 15th Avenue S to 22nd Avenue S and from First Street to Fourth Street were without cooking gas and hot water.

Crews worked overnight to clean out the line. By 7 p.m. Sunday, Morera said, 308 customers had their service restored.

The 40 remaining residents will have service as soon as they call TECO and give crews access to their homes. Employees have tried contacting all those customers already, calling them and leaving tags on their door, Morera said.