A new president is taking over the natural gas utility connected to the September gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley.
Columbia Gas of Massachusetts says Mark Kempic will officially succeed retiring president Steve Bryant on May 1. The transition was announced in February.
The company says Kempic will also continue to serve as chief operating officer of the company, a title he's held since January. He's been with the company 40 years and previously served as president of Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania and Columbia Gas of Maryland.
The Sept. 13 disaster was triggered by over pressurization in a natural gas pipeline during a routine replacement project. One person died, dozens more injured, hundreds of structures damaged and thousands left without natural gas service for months in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover.
