Columbia to seek cost recovery for leaks |
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Thu, 01 Feb 2007 22:56
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AFX) - Ohio's biggest natural gas provider said Thursday the cost of replacing potentially faulty hookups could total $200 million and it will ask state regulators for permission to recover the cost from customers.Columbia Gas of Ohio said up to 400,000 of its 1.4 million customers could have the hookups, known as risers, that could be prone to failure and develop leaks.The hookups were installed by contractors on customers' property and connect a building's gas meter to the company-owned pipes that deliver the gas. The risers are owned by the customers.Alan Schriber, chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, asked the state's gas utility companies last month to inspect all hookups and replace those found to be faulty.The replacement cost could reach several hundred dollars for each faulty hookup, Columbia spokesman Ken Stammen said. The company will ask the PUCO to recover the costs from all customers, Stammen said.Columbia, a division of Merrillville, Ind.-based NiSource, has customers in 64 of Ohio's 88 counties.Only certain types of plastic pipes are at risk, Schriber said. Metal pipes can leak, but when they do, the leaks aren't as dangerous because they are usually not as big.Ohio's other gas utilities are Dominion East Ohio, a unit of Dominion Resources Inc., with about 1.2 million customers; Duke Energy Ohio, a unit of Duke Energy Corp., with 415,000 customers; and Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, a division of Vectren Corp., with 318,000 customers.A message seeking comment was left with the PUCO.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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