THOUSANDS of people spent the night in homes without gas in freezing conditions after a failure in the network.
Scottish Gas Network (SGN) is working to restore supplies to around 8,000 properties after the problem started on Sunday but said it could be several days before supplies are restored to everyone.
Fourteen schools, nurseries and education facilities in the Falkirk area were closed on Monday due to the issue.
SGN has set up an information centre at Camelon Community Centre and said electric hot plates and heaters are available for residents with young children and vulnerable and older people.
Engineers are going door to door to turn off supplies in affected properties and had visited 3,000 homes by the end of Sunday night.
In a statement, SGN said: "Thank you for your patience so far. We appreciate it's not easy being without your gas supply in the cold weather and we're doing all we can to get your gas back on as quickly as possible.
"It's likely it will be several more days until everyone's gas supplies are restored.
"In the meantime, we're continuing to work closely with Falkirk Council and Police Scotland, as well as other local organisations, to support the community - prioritising those who are vulnerable to make sure they're well looked after while they're without gas."
The company said a fault in a piece of equipment that regulates pressure in the gas network was to blame.
SGN is drafting in extra engineers from across Scotland to help deal with the problem.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel