Southwest Gas review: Poor decision and misinformation by technician

On Monday January 17, 2025, about 4PM I called Southwest Gas regarding a possible gas smell in my kitchen area. The SW technician arrived about 5PM. His ID is JAH1 and truck # 2851. He checked the central heater closet in the kitchen but did not say anything about a leak and then said he would go to meter and perform a pressure test; he then also checked the outside of the house. Following the test and exterior inspection he determined there were 2 minor exterior leaks and told me where they were. He informed me that he would have to disconnect my service, and I will need to call the city of south lake Tahoe to inspect the repairs before SW can reconnect my gas service.

I informed the technician that it was going to be 15 degrees at night, and we would have no heat. I said the leaks are outside and not a danger for fire, I could correct the leaks that night or in the morning and SW could reinspect in the morning. He said he had no choice but to disconnect my gas and if I tried to turn it on it is a federal offense and that SW will prosecute. I ask if a building permit will be required, he said no but the city of SLT will need to inspect the repairs. The technician then left. Tuesday morning it was 35 degrees in my front room, my wife and I had to sleep with ski cloths on the stay warm.

I called the City of SLT building department at 8AM to find out the process for the city inspection. The building dept is closed on Tuesdays so I was unable to get any information from the city of SLT or southwest gas. Fortunately, I was able to borrow space heaters from friends and increased the house temperature to 50 degrees. On Wednesday I received a call back from city of SLT, they told me a permit was required for the inspection. I paid for the permit and made the repairs and performed an air pressure test at 15lbs for 15 minutes. I discovered another leaking valve at the central heater in the kitchen. It was now too late for a city inspection, so I scheduled it for Thursday morning, it passed about 10AM and I immediately called SW 800 number to reconnect my service.

To my amazement they said it could take 24 to 48 hours for a SW technician to reconnect my gas. I was so upset I could no longer speak to the SW representative. Shortly after I called, my wife called, spoke to a supervisor and was able to get a commitment for SW to reconnect our gas on the same day. At 3:30 my wife called again; they said the order was pending and would be completed sometime that day. About 4pm the SW technician arrived, he said he received the order shortly before 4pm. He tested the system and reconnected the gas. I showed him the wedge type valves I replaced on the inside and outside of my house. He said those are old defective valves prone to leaks. He said it is SW policy that when SW discovers these valves that the customer replace them and SW reinspects to confirm. He said SW usually will not disconnect the service, especially in the winter. He apologized for gas shutoff especially since it was so cold.

Because of the bad judgement and misinformation from technician JAH1 I request a credit for the city of SLT permit fee of $272.12.

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