CenterPoint crews arrive after Action 13 steps in for 82-year-old La Porte woman

SHOREACRES, Texas (KTRK) -- An 82-year-old woman said she weathered periods of drought, hurricanes, and winter storms while living in her Shoreacres home for nearly five decades. But she said this is the longest she's been left in the dark.

Judy Svegliato said CenterPoint Energy gave her the runaround about getting her gas turned back on.

"I kept watching the weather to see if it got really cold. I thought, 'Well, maybe I'll have to find another place to stay,'" she said.

Svegliato went 48 days without gas. She said she couldn't take a warm shower, dry her clothes, wash her dishes, or heat her home.

"It's complicated, and my sister called up and said she's coming to visit right after Thanksgiving. And I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, I wonder if I'll have gas by then,'" she said.

Svegliato told ABC13 that crews informed her water was leaking into her gas line. She said rather than having the line fixed, she decided to move the meter box closer to her home and install a new gas line.

CenterPoint Energy said it removed the meter for safety concerns and turned the gas off in early October.

Since then, Svegliato said crews and contractors came and went, but her problem went unresolved.

ABC13 reached out to CenterPoint Energy to see when the problem would be fixed.

Two hours after ABC13 reached out, Svegliato said the utility called and told her crews would be sent out.

Eyewitness News waited until workers arrived, and about an hour later, contractors showed up.

CenterPoint Energy showed up shortly after ABC13 asked them about this issue.

Prior to Svegliato's gas being turned back on, CenterPoint Energy sent an email saying the following:

On October 5, our technicians responded to an emergency call from the customer informing us her natural gas was not working. Upon investigation, our team discovered that the gas meter needed to be removed, per our safety protocols. The customer requested that CenterPoint extend our service line to install the new meter closer to her home than the removed meter. The extension was assigned to a contract crew, who has been working with the customer to coordinate installation.

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