The following article was published in the Morning Call on February 18th, 2015. This article illustrates how homes heated with natural gas are subject to heating outages, contrary to what most homeowners believe. article source: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-ugi-gas-conserve-20150218-story.html
UGI Utilities Inc. is asking customers in Easton to voluntarily conserve natural gas Thursday and Friday nights, when extremely cold temperatures are expected.
In a news release Wednesday, the national gas utility asked customers to cut back on heat and other uses Thursday night into Friday morning and Friday night into Saturday morning. The National Weather Service is calling for overnight low temperatures of minus 5 degrees both nights.
UGI spokesman Joseph Swope said the utility’s supply is not an issue, rather demand is and the situation affects Easton because it’s at the edge of UGI’s service territory.
While UGI’s natural gas distribution system is operating normally, UGI said in the release that the request is being made out of an “abundance of caution.”
Easton customers are asked to lower their thermostats to at least 65 degrees both nights. The request also was made of customers in Jim Thorpe and Lehighton as well as communities in Clinton, Cumberland, Lackawanna, Lancaster and Lebanon counties.
Contrary to the monopoly that the gas utility companies possess, the heating oil industry operates in a very healthy free market. Homes heated with oil are not subject to this kind of service interruption. When homeowner’s oil tanks get low, they are able to easily get a refill from their oil dealer. When consumers need to order more oil, they can easily find an oil dealer to meet the demand. Click here for our oil dealer locator to find an oil dealer that services your home.