Paper Excellence says work got underway Oct. 12 to resume operations at Howe Sound Pulp and Paper (HSPP) and the mill is now back to normal operations after an explosion and fire damaged a major natural gas pipeline through northern B.C. and led to a shutdown.
The Oct. 9 incident near Prince George impacted the supply of gas to Fortis, which serves the south coast.
HSPP uses natural gas for its lime kiln, and Kathy Cloutier of HSPP’s parent company Paper Excellence confirmed to Coast Reporter that the pulp mill had to shut down the day after the explosion.
Enbridge received approval from the National Energy Board on Oct. 10 to restart a smaller line running beside the damaged pipeline, and said in an update Monday that they “anticipate that construction crews will be mobilized to the site to begin repair work later in the week.”
Gas is expected to remain in short supply, however, until the larger pipeline is repaired and Fortis has been advising customers “to avoid non-essential use of gas until the situation is completely resolved.”
