Byline: David Dekok
Sep. 29--Harrisburg city officials and residents are praising the performance of natural-gas utility UGI Corp. both before and after the remnants of Hurricane Ivan flooded parts of the area the weekend of Sept. 19.
PPL Electric also is getting some kudos from the city, but the real laurels are reserved for UGI. In part, that's because UGI's performance in the January 1996 flood in Harrisburg was widely criticized.
Back then, submerged gas meters were not replaced, and UGI resisted rectifying the huge gas bills that sometimes followed. Getting service turned back on could be time consuming.
"We learned our lessons last time," said Mike Fessler, UGI's customer relations manager in Harrisburg. "We got the meters out and put new ones in. In the past, meters may have been reinstalled that had been submerged."
UGI is not charging customers for any of the work. Fessler estimated that UGI's costs from flooding throughout its midstate service territory is in "the six figures."
"Unlike previous incidents, both utilities were very proactive in their approach, even going so far as to send representatives to our emergency management team sessions so as to both have and give the latest information," city spokesman Randy King said.
In Shipoke, the worst-hit part of Harrisburg, UGI shut off gas at either the curb or in houses the evening of Saturday, Sept. 18, after most residents had a full day to move possessions out of basements and first floors. PPL waited until Sunday morning to shut off electricity to the neighborhood.
City officials didn't want a replay of the 1996 flood, when fire devastated the Pancake Row houses along Conoy Street in Shipoke. The fire, which started after the general evacuation, was linked to a short circuit in an old wiring job running up the chimney of one of the homes. Electricity in that house had not been shut off.
After Shipoke was reopened late Monday, Sept. 20, UGI set up a command center and had trucks and personnel in the neighborhood on 14-hour shifts.
Natural gas is the predominant heating fuel in Shipoke, and some 200 households had to be reconnected. PPL trucks roamed the neighborhood waiting for the OK to reconnect power to particular homes.
"UGI came out and installed a new gas meter," said Mike Tapper of 115 Conoy St. in Shipoke. "There were three of them [UGI employees]. Two put in the new meter, and one relit the pilot lights. They were very nice, very polite and very efficient."
Residents were required to either prove to a city inspector that they could shut off electricity to basement circuits at the box or to have an electrician come in and block off those circuits before they could have electricity and gas service restored. The concern was that light fixtures or electric outlets that had been submerged would short and start a fire.
Fessler said UGI brought in dozens of new gas meters and kept them at the command center so as not to waste time running back and forth to the supply depot. The utility printed door-hangers to inform residents who weren't home that their gas had been shut off.
One question remains unanswered: whether the last readings from the submerged gas meters were accurate. Fessler said UGI believes firmly that they were, based on conversations with the meter manufacturer.
State Consumer Advocate Irwin Popowsky said any UGI customers who believe their next bills are inaccurate should call his office at 783-5048.
"UGI has certainly distinguished itself through its efforts with the Ivan flooding and is deserving of public recognition and accolade," city spokesman King said. "We have been very impressed with their strong commitment to getting their work done as quickly as possible so that homeowners can reoccupy their flood-damaged dwellings, as well as with their civil generosity and spirit."
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TICKER SYMBOL(S): UGI