INFORMATION #4 08-01-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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BACKGROUND What is the service line replacement project? Centerpoint Energy has begun a project to remove from service all couplings in the former Midwest Gas service area that might have been installed improperly. To do this, we will replace up to 32,000 natural gas service lines in 37 Minnesota communities in 2005. Why is it necessary? In 1993, Centerpoint Energy (formerly Minnegasco) purchased the Minnesota properties of Midwest Gas, an Iowa-based distributor of natural gas that at the time served 80,000 customers in Minnesota. Prior to this purchase, Midwest Gas had acquired North Central Public Service Co. in 1986. North Central Public Service Co. is the utility that originally installed gas service to all the customers acquired by Midwest Gas. An investigation by Centerpoint Energy has revealed that prior to 1984 North Central Public Service Co. improperly used metal couplings to join plastic pipe on some of its residential and commercial service lines. The Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety reached the same conclusion after it investigated the December 2004 building explosion in Ramsey. Is it related to a December 2004 explosion in Ramsey? Yes. The city of Ramsey is one of the 37 communities in the former Midwest Gas service area, and the Ramsey incident involved a coupling that was improperly installed by North Central Public Service Company. SCOPE How many service lines will be replaced? Centerpoint Energy is conducting a careful, deliberative records search and field work to define the scope of potentially affected customers and communities. We believe the maximum number of service lines that might have improperly installed couplings is 32,000. Why don't we know exactly how many service lines need to be replaced? The service line replacement figure continues to change because the customer records we acquired from Midwest Gas in 1993 are incomplete and in many cases do not provide the information necessary to determine if a service line should be replaced. Additionally, many of our billing addresses are not necessarily the same as the service line address. As a result, much of the scope work is rrlanual and time consuming. We will accurately determine all service lines that need to be replaced. In a situation where we cannot satisfactorily determine whether a service line meets the scoping criteria, the service line will be replaced. How will a customer know if they are affected by this project? We have developed criteria to determine if a customers' home or business would receive a new natural gas service line. A customer's service line will be replaced if their home or business meets the following criteria: It is located in one of the 37 communities formerly served by Midwest Gas It was built before January 1, 1984 It had natural gas service installed before January 1, 1984 The company determines the service line is plastic Note: The service line will not need to be replaced if the company determines it to be a steel service line or if the original plastic service line was replaced after 1984. A customer will know that their natural gas service line is to be replaced when one or more of the following occurs: They received a letter confirming that their home or business will have a new service line installed; (No letters have been sent since June 11, 2005) or 2