THIBODAUX, La. — Thibodaux homeowner, James Cundiff, said that compared to some of his neighbors, his home fared well through Hurricane Francine.
“Some of our neighbors really took it on the chin," Cundiff said.
Cundiff said he lost power Wednesday through Saturday, but he was prepared for that. Or so he thought.
“The Generac was starving for fuel. So, it was revving and tapering and revving and tapering and the lights were doing the same thing, and it sent a fault code and shut itself off," Cundiff said.
Cundiff invested in his whole home generator after Hurricane Ida. He estimates the majority of his neighbors in the Acadia Woods subdivision have them, totaling more than a million dollars in generators combined.
“Ida came, and we were nearly two weeks without power and so we made the decision, but it was in excess of $20,000 to purchase and install," Cundiff said.
Several neighborhoods in Thibodaux, including Acadia Woods, were unable to run their whole house generator after Hurricane Francine made landfall due to the high demand of natural gas causing a drop in pressure.
Now, Cundiff is wondering if the money he spent on the generator was worth it.
“Extreme frustration," Cundiff said, "I feel somewhat guilty saying that because some people incurred so much damaged, but yet, we all work hard for our money, and we sacrificed to have this, what turned out to be a false sense of security.”
Two companies supply natural gas to Thibodaux — Atmos and South Coast Gas.
South Coast is Cundiff's provider.
Michael St. Romain, VP of South Coast, spoke to WWL Louisiana Reporter Lily Cummings on the phone.
“We’ve been serving the community for over 80 years, and this is the first time this has happened to our company," St. Romain said.
In fact, St. Romain said natural gas generators did so well during Hurricane Ida, they've seen the number of generators being installed skyrocket. In turn, so did the demand for natural gas.
Cundiff said he was able to contact South Coast during the storm, and as soon as it was safe to come out, technicians arrived in his neighborhood.
Now, South Coast said it's looking for long-term solutions to fight supply and demand issues.
“In the subdivisions, some of the streets, we can loop them in, and tie in some areas so we can make those areas stronger," St. Romain said.
Cundiff said he plans to reach out to his elected officials to urge them to make infrastructure improvements so the folks in Thibodaux don't have '$20,000 boat anchors' in the future.
Atmos said customers should inform their gas company prior to installing generators to ensure there is "adequately sized equipment to ensure safe and reliable service."
"Atmos Energy did not lose any customers and most of the customer issues or complaints were directly related to incorrectly installed natural gas generators," a spokesperson for Atmos said.
South Coast also said issues often stem from generators that are not installed by professionals.
Lafourche Parish does require a permit for a residential or commercial generator. The parish does not cap the number of permits issued, a spokesperson for the parish said.
Later on Oct. 17, the City of Thibodaux issued the following statement regarding natural gas:
"The City of Thibodaux is actively working on a long-term solution for the natural gas issues that some residents experienced during Hurricane Francine. In the short term, we are communicating with natural gas companies to increase gas volume and gas pressure into the existing lines along with taking safety measures by installing more robust relief valves and adjusting individual gas regulators."
For those still experiencing issues after consulting with a generator representative, please contact our Public Works Department at 985-446-7216.
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