Employees of PPL Gas Utilities in Tioga and Potter counties will be repairing damage caused by recent flash flooding that could jeopardize the safety of the company’s natural gas pipelines.

"The heavy rain caused several washouts in the Wellsboro and Mansfield areas," said Chuck Rogala, vice president of PPL Gas Utilities. "We are reassigning all available employees in the area to fix these problems before the cold weather arrives so we can continue providing safe and reliable natural gas delivery service through the winter."

Among the employees who will be reassigned are those who normally read gas meters in the area, he added. That means customers in Tioga and Potter counties can expect to receive bills in September based on an estimate of their natural gas use.

"We understand our customers’ concerns with estimated bills. We do not like to send estimated bills. In this case, however, the flood damage has created problems we must correct now," Rogala said.

Another factor PPL considered before temporarily reassigning meter readers is that natural gas use and gas bills are low for many customers at this time of year.

To make its estimates of natural gas use as accurate as possible, PPL bases them on weather conditions and the customer’s historic natural gas use levels. The company then reconciles any differences with the next meter reading.

Flood damage repairs should take about a month. The company expects meter readers to return to their normal duties by the beginning of October.

Areas hit hardest by the flooding include Catlin Hollow, Little Marsh, Nelson, Mansfield and Millerton.

PPL Gas Utilities is a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL). Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation controls about 11,500 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.