CALGARY — Rural customers affected by a natural gas pipeline rupture north of Rocky Mountain House will be receiving a replacement supply of the heating fuel, TransCanada Corp. said Tuesday afternoon.

The Calgary-based company reported Tuesday that a leg of its Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. pipeline system lost pressure at about 5 a.m. Tuesday morning and was shut down.

The closure was contained to its Ferrier North Lateral and did not affect service to the west central Alberta town of Rocky Mountain House, about 10 kilometres to the south.

“We have been informed that the local distribution company has already made arrangements to have a temporary supply of compressed natural gas delivered into the area to maintain service for their customers,” reported TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard Tuesday afternoon in an e-mail update.

He said TransCanada has secured the site and turned it over to the Transportation Safety Board and National Energy Board to conduct an on-site investigation. The cause of this line break is not known.

Once the investigation is complete, TransCanada will submit its repair and long-term return to service plans to the NEB for approval, said Howard.

The nearest home “is located more than 500 metres away and TransCanada has been in contact with this landowner to ensure their continued safety,” Howard said.

“No evacuation was required as a result of this line break.”

The NEB said the release of sweet natural gas occurred along the pipeline right-of-way.

On its website, TransCanada describes its NGTL system as a 24,373-kilometre network that gathers natural gas for use within the province of Alberta and delivers gas to be exported via the Canadian Mainline and Foothills natural gas pipelines and pipelines owned by other companies.

A TransCanada pipeline explosion in Manitoba last month left about 3,600 homes and businesses without heat for several days in -20 C temperatures.

dhealing@calgaryherald.com