Thousands of homes in Mons with no heating or hot water

Thousands of homes in Mons have spent several days without heating or hot water after a major gas and electricity outage.

The first problems came from disruptions to the gas supply at 14 substations. The city asked residents to limit consumption until service could be restored, but then a subsequent fire at an electricity substation worsened the situation by also cutting off electricity for hundreds.

“This incident is most likely linked to the overuse of the electrical network for heating to compensate for the temperatures,” said a spokesperson for Ores, distribution network operator in Wallonia.

“Our colleagues are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”

An estimated 12,000 households were left without gas for several days.

Ores said it was aware that the situation was difficult for the people of Mons, especially as snow began to fall on Sunday evening, but asked them "to limit their electricity consumption by reducing the use of energy-intensive appliances as much as possible, using electric heaters sensibly and only as a backup, heating one living room rather than the whole house, and to refrain from charging electric cars for the time being".

The network began to be restored in southern Mons on Monday morning, with technical teams going door to door to reconnect customers.

“It’s difficult to give a figure on Sunday evening because the accounting is done on the basis of the leak test sheets that we fill out after carrying out the mandatory tests at customers’ homes,” said spokesperson Annabel Vanbever last night.

“Our technicians are in the field working hard and are focusing on this. This is not a leak, nor is it an act of vandalism or malicious damage. I was discussing it with my colleagues this morning, who told me that, as far as gas workers can remember, we haven’t had a situation like this in more than 40 years.”

Authorities are warning residents to beware of malicious individuals who could take advantage of the situation to break into the homes of vulnerable people.

“The teams will be mixed teams - Ores and municipal staff - who will be easily identifiable, wearing fluorescent yellow vests with the Ores logo,” reads an advisory.

“These people have only one mission, which is to reset the gas meters. They will not be asking for money, for example.”

People who are away from their homes can contact Ores via a specific telephone number left in their letterbox to arrange an appointment to have their valve reactivated.

Ores, a key player in the management of the gas distribution network in Wallonia, operates a network of more than 10,000km of pipes.

The incident in Mons, which involved the automatic shutdown of 14 substations, illustrates how the scale and complexity of this network can make certain failures particularly spectacular. Maintenance and safety checks are strict, which makes this incident all the more unusual.

“It was an exceptional situation, but we know that the consequences remain complicated for customers, and we are obviously keeping that in mind,” said Vanbever.

Teams from other parts of Wallonia, particularly Luxembourg province, came to lend a hand to ensure that services were restored as quickly as possible.

“Closing the valves and then repeating the same operation to reopen them safely in a record time of just a few days really required a major mobilisation, both from the teams and from the local population, who responded to the call and whom I would really like to thank,” said Mons mayor Nicolas Martin.

An emergency reception and accommodation centre was opened at Mons Expo, where beds, sleeping bags and blankets have been made available to the population.

In one neighbourhood, half the residents were affected and the other half were not, leading to neighbours helping one another by lending heaters or inviting them to use showers and kitchens.

“We know how to help people,” said one resident of Rue Massard, where some people have been stuck without heat for four days and have seen their homes reach temperatures of 12°C.

Emergency measures were implemented in schools, hospitals, nurseries and shops. The city asked parents of children who attend municipal schools in the city centre to keep their children at home.

Nursing homes and nurseries are trying to obtain mobile boilers or switch to oil heating. People living alone who are known to social services will be contacted by the prevention service to ensure that they are not in serious difficulty.

People who are not on this list, for example for data protection reasons, can contact the emergency call centre set up by the city.

For this and for any information about problems relating to disruption, people can call 065 88 22 25 daily until 22.00.

“Heaters are available on a priority basis for people with reduced mobility, people who are dependent on electrical equipment and vulnerable people via the call centre,” added Mayor Martin.

“We encourage carers to notify the city to report these people. Home delivery can be arranged by the municipal services. The number of heaters is limited.

"A heated reception centre will be opened at Mons Expo for people in difficulty or who do not wish to sleep at home in these conditions. Equipment will be provided: beds, blankets. Do not hesitate to go there if necessary, taking your essential personal belongings with you."

The gas outage came at a particularly bad time for the hospitality industry, with Valentine’s Day weekend being one of the busiest days for restaurants.

Some establishments were without heating and were unable to cook hot meals, and therefore forced to close.

“For the professional sector and the hospitality industry, Ores provides compensation for this type of situation,” said mayor Martin.

“The professionals concerned can contact Ores directly to find out the procedure.”