Mac
Gold Member
"Village of Hamilton Gas Utility update"
(Preface: In the 1930's the Village formed an Electric Utility and started providing electric service. Today the electric rates are about 4.2 cents per KWH, which is ridiculously cheap for NYS.)
Things are going well, and all of the legal and legislative approvals from New York State are completed. The route of the pipeline has been mapped, and easements & rights-of-way have been negotiated.
They are ready to start digging and laying pipe real soon. The first part is to get the gas main to the village, from another main about four miles away. Then the pipes will be installed directly to the big users - the School, Hospital, and Colgate U. heating plant. From there the gas service will be spread through the village at some scheduled pace. It is expected that many or most residences that are not using electric heat will convert to using natural gas as the primary energy source.
Each gas customer will be needing at least one Building Permit for the installation of gas burning equipment. My intent is also to witness a pressure test of every inch of gas piping installed anywhere in the village. There will be some residents that will convert oil furnaces and boilers to gas, by installing a gas burner in the existing unit. Others may wish to convert other appliances, such as water heaters, space heaters, kitchen stoves & ranges and more. There are also chimneys, forced draft vents and who-knows-what kinds of homemade exhaust setups. All of which will need to be updated to code compliant systems. I’m glad we have R312 requiring smoke & CO alarms - that will be a big deal.
The village-wide conversion to gas will likely take a long time - some years – and will be a substantial amount of work for the Code Enforcement office. I am preparing for a building permit for each gas hookup, and will be reminding the installers’ of the additional responsibilities in the Codes, like R312 requiring smoke & CO alarms and bonding of CSST piping systems - that will be a surprise to some, and the electricians should be happy.
(Preface: In the 1930's the Village formed an Electric Utility and started providing electric service. Today the electric rates are about 4.2 cents per KWH, which is ridiculously cheap for NYS.)
Things are going well, and all of the legal and legislative approvals from New York State are completed. The route of the pipeline has been mapped, and easements & rights-of-way have been negotiated.
They are ready to start digging and laying pipe real soon. The first part is to get the gas main to the village, from another main about four miles away. Then the pipes will be installed directly to the big users - the School, Hospital, and Colgate U. heating plant. From there the gas service will be spread through the village at some scheduled pace. It is expected that many or most residences that are not using electric heat will convert to using natural gas as the primary energy source.
Each gas customer will be needing at least one Building Permit for the installation of gas burning equipment. My intent is also to witness a pressure test of every inch of gas piping installed anywhere in the village. There will be some residents that will convert oil furnaces and boilers to gas, by installing a gas burner in the existing unit. Others may wish to convert other appliances, such as water heaters, space heaters, kitchen stoves & ranges and more. There are also chimneys, forced draft vents and who-knows-what kinds of homemade exhaust setups. All of which will need to be updated to code compliant systems. I’m glad we have R312 requiring smoke & CO alarms - that will be a big deal.
The village-wide conversion to gas will likely take a long time - some years – and will be a substantial amount of work for the Code Enforcement office. I am preparing for a building permit for each gas hookup, and will be reminding the installers’ of the additional responsibilities in the Codes, like R312 requiring smoke & CO alarms and bonding of CSST piping systems - that will be a surprise to some, and the electricians should be happy.
