APA Group successfully completed its temporary pipeline solution at the site of the damaged Young Lithgow Pipeline at the Macquarie River on Sunday 20 November, enabling Jemena to restore gas supply to all customers in the Wallerawang, Lithgow and Oberon areas.

APA and Jemena would like to thank all of those involved in this solution.

Jemena can also confirm that all residential, commercial and industrial customers, are able to resume their normal gas usage (including their gas heating) with immediate effect.

APA Group acting CEO Adam Watson thanked all involved in the response to the outage and their singular focus on restoring gas to these communities as quickly and as safely as possible.

"Our teams on the ground have been overwhelmed by the support they have received from residents and businesses. APA and Jemena thank the community for their continued patience and support," Mr Watson said.

"I want to thank APA and Jemena crews for their tireless work and acknowledge the efforts and support of the local SES, the NSW Rural Fire Service, local Councils, and other community organisations.

"On behalf of APA, I also want to acknowledge the Local Emergency Management Committee, the NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole, the Member for Calare Andrew Gee, and the many contractors and businesses who have pulled out all stops to help us safely restore gas supply."

During construction of both the temporary pipeline and temporary LNG solutions, APA and Jemena have had the support of more than 40 contractors from across Australia, including local contractors and businesses as far as Perth and Tasmania.

Jemena's Managing Director Frank Tudor said the response would not have been possible without the goodwill and support from local communities, and the broader gas sector.

"These past few months have been very challenging for Central NSW, with the impacts of severe weather and flooding, as well as the loss of gas supply for some towns," Mr Tudor said.

"I'd like to thank local community members, who despite these challenges, have welcomed and encouraged our teams, and provided support for them on the ground. Thanks are also due to the Local Emergency Management Committee, the NSW Deputy Premier, the Federal Member for Calare and all of the mayors for their help.

"Finally, I want to thank the teams in the field including those from interstate, local emergency services and council personnel, as well as the Jemena and APA team members who've worked tirelessly to respond to this incident.

"Their boots on the ground, local knowledge and technical expertise have been critical to our response."

The temporary pipeline is expected to meet all the gas supply needs of Lithgow, Oberon and Wallerawang until the permanent solution is completed. The permanent solution is expected to be complete around mid-December, subject to weather conditions.

While access to the pipeline is still restricted due to continued flooding, APA's preliminary assessment suggests that the damage to the Young Lithgow Pipeline was caused by flooding.

APA does not anticipate any disruption to supply when the permanent solution is complete and reconnected to replace the temporary pipeline.

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APA Group published this content on 21 November 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 21 November 2022 00:38:08 UTC.