It won’t be a quick job, and it’ll probably cause some discomfort in the way of busted sidewalks and dug-up grass. But Centerpoint Energy’s work to replace decades-old gas lines beneath McComb streets will be safer for the community in the long run, company officials said.
The work comes amid a push in the natural gas industry to replace outdated infrastructure with new materials, Daniel Wilson, Centerpoint’s operations supervisor, and Daniel Bales, who is helping to lead the work on the ground locally, told the McComb Exchange Club.
“Part of a big driver of this in states throughout the whole country is systems are aging and they need to be maintained,” Wilson said.
A dramatic reminder of this occurred on Sept. 9, 2010, when a massive gas leak blew up an entire neighborhood in San Bruno, Calif.
“It’s safer for the community, customers. It’s just something that’s got to be done,” Wilson said.
And as bad as the water crisis is in Jackson, where aging infrastructure carries much of the blame for the problem, Wilson noted that his company can’t afford to have leaks from a public safety standpoint.
“That’s water, this is gas,” he said.
Wilson said Centerpoint has invested close to $1 million in infrastructure upgrades in McComb over the past year.
“We are in a big capital push to improve our system,” he said.
He said many of the lines have been below ground since the 1940s, and work to replace them is beginning in the oldest parts of the city and moving outward.
“It gets corroded, it gets rusted, it doesn’t last forever and with that comes leaks,” Wilson said.
Leak surveys — done with the assistance of a car outfitted with $1 million worth of technology to detect escaping methane — also help determine where the work will take place.
“We kind of pick certain areas and focus on one at a time,” Wilson said, adding that the age of pipe and materials and fittings needed for the replacement work also help determine where crews will go next.
Wilson said most of the company’s meters are read by radio frequency, and new smart meters will eventually allow the company to remotely shut off gas service when leaks are reported.
He noted that the work involves the digging up of sidewalks and grass in some instances, but directional boring is helping to mitigate the amount of digging taking place on the surface.
“Thanks for being patient with the work that’s going on,” Wilson said.
