Officials and the National Guard are delivering hot plates in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover this weekend as Columbia Gas says full service will not be restored until November.
The residents of communities that were hit by the gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley last week are starting to feel the cold as temperatures drop and they are still without gas in their homes.
To help their cause, Columbia Gas, whose faulty pipelines caused the gas outages for thousands, is getting boots on the ground. Along with the National Guard, they threw thousands of hot plates onto the beds of pickup trucks and delivered them around town. The hot plates will help cut costs for many who have had to eat out for every meal since they cannot cook at home.
But with winter coming, some are skeptical hot plates will be enough. Heat and hot showers are still a long ways off.
