the new mexico gas company is really starting to feel the heat. the p-r-c--- the state legislature--- and the attorney general's office have all announced they want their own separate investigations into the natural gas crisis. each will have their own focus--- but they all agree on one thing--- someone needs to be held accountable. eddie garcia is here with tonight's big story. each agency tells us they want to get to the bottom of this crisis - disect it and find ways to prevent it from happening again. the public regulation commission is using the help of an independent expert to help investigate what went wrong. it's very serious what happened here with no heat and damage to your house because of water lines bursting. the p-r-c is looking for answers from the new mexico gas company and any other company involved in the gas crisis. what happened, why was there a shortage and why were so many homes shut off. particularly homes in the communities hit hardest. yes we do want to know how these communities were picked and chosen on what communities didn't have gas and what communities kept gas. we asked the prc chairman what could happen if their investigation found any wrongdoing--- he wouldn't give anything concrete answers other than they are prepared to take action. 46:36 if they did something wrong we have the authority to correct that we'll ask for a hearing, we'll ask for stipulations and see what can be done to either fine them or or do something about the situation. state lawmakers are also jumping on the bandwagon... today representative bobby gonzales who represents taos introduced a bill to investigate the root of the problem. and tomorrow the entire senate will hold a hearing on the natural gas crisis. the attorney general is also stepping into the ring--- today gary king told us his office is looking at every way it can to help out new mexicans. "to the extent that we have jurisdiction we're gonna try to keep help people but what i think people need to realize is they are gonna have individuaul causes of action and those would be outside the purview of the ag's office. gary king also says his office will be keeping a close eye on future rate hikes from new mexico gas - to make sure the cost of this crisis doesn't show up on your bill. tomorrow morning fema teams will start assessing the damage caused by last week's winter storm. it could take weeks to complete the investigation. all findings will be turned over to governor susana martinez-- and if there's at least two-and-a half million dollars worth of damage -- she will send the request to the president. in the meantime-- fema is urging new mexicans to take pictures and keep receipts for things like repairs and hotels. the agency says that will help with claims if new mexico ends up qualifying for federal assistance. while the state waits to hear what fema finds... new mexico gas is still taking claims for damages... so far 760 claims have been filed with the new mexico gas company. if you want to file a claim--- you can download an application at kob dot com. hundreds of new mexicans were hoping to get answers from the gas company this morning.. but no one from the utility showed up to today's meeting... which really infuriated some people. representatives from the usda and other agencies were there.. they talked about federal grants and loans that could help with certain repairs .... and offered hotel vouchers for those displaced. but the crowd demanded answers about who was going to pay for broken pipes--- lost business--- higher electric bills--- and their medical bills. "i took my father to the emergency room we can't afford to pay he couldn't be seen in the va because everyone is so busy in albuquerque while we are without gas without gas without water without heat now my daughter is sick who is going to help me pay my bills, who is going to help me pay their bills." even the mayor of taos chimed in--- vowing to make sure local governments hold the gas company accountable for what happened. tonight a lot of new mexicans still have a lot of toh questions for the new mexico gas company. kob eyewitness news 4 is committed to finding the answers you want about the natural gas crisis.
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Multiple investigations begin probing gas crisisby kobtv492 views
Beavis aka Cornholio had a conniption fit in the middle of the night dealing with his cold house, and won't settle for anything less than giving all the Gas Company bigwigs THE CHAIR --- FIRE ! FIRE ! FIRE! FIRE !!
The infrastructure of all of New Mexico's utilities - Natural Gas, Electricity, Water - ought to be checked out by qualified personnel in all communities, and upgrades and replaces should be made where needed. Potable water is NOT potable, heavy metal tests should be conducted.
DancingSpiderman 1 year ago