By WPRO News and the Associated Press
National Grid spokesman Ted Kresse tweeted on Tuesday night that the company’s President Tim Horan was “doing well” a few hours after Horan collapsed at the podium during a press conference on an ongoing gas emergency in Newport. Horan was taken to the hospital, but Kresse wrote that Horan was expected to be released soon.
Kresse wrote that Horan’s duties would be taken over by SVP and Chief Customer Officer Terry Sobolewski. More information on Horan’s condition is expected on Wednesday.
National Grid is still working to restore gas service to thousands of customers on Aquidneck Island who have been without heat in recent frigid temperatures. The utility suspended service Monday following a potentially dangerous loss of pressure caused by a supplier’s faulty valve.
Governor Gina Raimondo said it could take “days, or a week, or more” to get service fully restored. She had previously declared a State of Emergency, urging residents to not stay in their homes without heat and deploying the National Guard to get affected residents somewhere warm.
“The message hasn’t changed,” she said Tuesday night. “If you’re still in your home, we are urging you in the strongest possible terms to get some place safe.”
Raimondo also announced a number of food assistance and other efforts for those affected, which include the following:
- Free breakfast and lunch will be provided at the Florence Gray Community Center on York Street for the rest of the week. Breakfast is available from 7:30 am to 9 am, and lunch from 11:30 am to 1 pm.
- For families who participate in Newport’s Food Backpack program, backpacks will be available from 1 pm to 2 pm at Pell Elementary on Dexter Street. For families who are not enrolled in the program, food backpacks will be available from 2:30 to 3:30pm.
- Senior meal sites at Edward King House and Middletown Senior Center remain open, and Meals on Wheels deliveries will continue through the week.
- National Grid will reimburse the costs of a hotel and is also providing vouchers for pre-booked rooms. Vouchers are available at Gurney’s on Goat Island or at Gaudet Middle School in Middletown.
