By Steve Klamkin WPRO News

Rhode Island regulators will issue a report Wednesday into the gas emergency that left thousands of Newport customers without gas service during one of the coldest periods of the year in January, in some cases for several days.

In a statement Tuesday, the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers said it would “issue a Report describing the causes of the natural gas service outage on Aquidneck Island”.

“The Division anticipates further regulatory proceedings resulting from its Report”, the statement continued, going on to state that the division would not respond to questions, and a spokesman would not detail what kind of proceedings might result from the report.

Utility supplier National Grid said at the time of the disruption that a problem with a gas valve in Massachusetts led to a low gas pressure situation, necessitating the shutoff of service to about 7,000 customers, mainly in homes in Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth. Customers on a separate high-pressure system, such as the Newport Navy base were unaffected by the outage.

Utility crews had to go door to door to shut off gas service, check the meter, before restoring gas service, a process that took days.

Emergency shelters were opened for some people who had to evacuate their homes. National Grid provided electric space heaters for some homeowners, hotel vouchers for others. Businesses that were shuttered or lost food or other items were encouraged to apply for grants or other assistance.

A bill offered by Lt. Gov. Dan McKee in response to the gas emergency and supported by Gov. Gina Raimondo that would require utilities like National Grid to prepare an emergency response plan did not pass the General Assembly.