Business & Tech

Electric, Gas Officials Visit Stratford for 'Community Meeting'

United Illuminating and Southern CT Gas Co. representatives stress safety and prevention in part one of three-part Stratford Patch series on the meeting.

Part one in a three-part series to run today, Friday and Monday 0n Stratford Patch.

Members of UIL Holdings Corp. (UIL), parent company of United Illuminating Co. (UI) and the Southern CT Gas Co. (SCG), came to the Baldwin Center Tuesday night in Stratford to engage residents in a “community meeting” where information on energy supply, services, emergency management, billing and other topics were discussed.

It is not common knowledge yet that the region’s long-time electric provider, UI, is now a "sister company" to the region’s long-time natural gas provide, SCG.

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The two regional utilities are now owned by UIL, a growing and diversified “energy delivery company” that serves nearly 700,000 “electric and natural gas utility customers in 66 communities across two states, including Stratford.

Last November, UIL acquired SCG and two other natural gas utilities, Connecticut Natural Gas Corp. (CNG) and The Berkshire Gas Company, from a subsidiary of the Spanish-based Iberdrola SA.

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Michael A. West Jr., Director of Communications at UI, greeted about 90 people in attendance, most of them seniors, by noting that parent company UIL has combined total assets of more than $4 billion and is now a “full service energy company,” and not just and electricity supplier and distributor.

West noted that prior to the gas company acquisitions last Fall, it was taboo for UI officials to concretely address the often controversial subjects of customers using gas versus fuel oil for heating or hot water purposes. Or, he said, converting electric hot water heaters to less expensive fuels including natural gas and fuel oil.

“In the past,” West said, “I couldn’t even talk about it,” although the utility officials on hand were not shy in pointing out that natural gas at its current price is about half that of the equivalent fuel oil price (more on that Friday).

Next, West introduced Jay Wahlberg, a Lead Safety Specialist at UIL, who reviewed where power comes from and the power company’s associated hard assets, including power stations, substations and transmission lines as part of his “prevention” presentation.

“The reason I bring this up,” Wahlberg noted, is that if you have someone come to your home to do work with a backhoe, “they are required to call before they dig” in order not to accidently hit any underground utility assets. “Lines could be located under sidewalks, driveways or your yard and you might not even know it.”

He urged residents to call before undertaking any home project that involves large-scale digging. "Customers can visit www.cbyd.com or call 1-800-922-4455 before digging on or near your property."

Wahlberg also noted that people should be extra careful when working near overhead electric utility lines, citing the recent case in Milford where a contractor was electrocuted “carrying a ladder too close to an energized power line.”

One does not have to physically touch a power line with a conductor like an aluminum ladder to be shocked and/or severely injured or killed, he said. Federal safety (OSHA) regulations ask that one “stay 10 feet away from exposed energized equipment” at all times.

He also asked that customers always be proactive if they smell gas or observe a downed power line. “You can’t tell a wire is live by just looking at it,” Wahlberg said, and escaping natural gas “can be ignited by any nearby spark.

“If you see a downed power line or smell gas, call 911 and notify UI or the gas company immediately,” he said. “Don’t assume someone else is going to call.”

Wahlberg also stressed that it is important for homeowners and renters alike to keep vegetation and structures like decks and home additions a safe distance, at least three feet, from equipment like gas meters.

“Another hot topic lately,” he said, involves new construction. “Any time you add a home addition, put in a pool or build a playscape near power lines or utility easements, we ask that you contact us and we’ll walk you through what you need to know” in order to be absolutely safe.

There are many, many cases of unknowing homeowners and contractors putting in pools over utility lines, or constructing children’s playscapes too close to overhead wires that have resulted in tragedy.

A little planning in conjunction with the utility company will go a long way in preventing future tragedies from occurring, he said.

Next on Stratford Patch on Friday: Stratford resident, John Dobos, Jr., director of marketing and public affairs for SCG, talks about natural gas and energy efficiency, while Chuck Eves, director of engineering at UI, talks about emergency preparedness and how the utility prioritizes service restoration during major outages.


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