|
|
|
The price of liquid propane gas — long a staple home-heating fuel in rural northwest Missouri — may be rising, but the cost of natural gas fell last month to its lowest level in two years.
That's a formula that adds up to opportunity, say managers with the Empire District Natural Gas Co., which is planning a service expansion in eastern Nodaway County early this spring.
According to Empire engineer Dan Klein and area manager Doug Kline, who met Friday with the Nodaway County Commission, pipe is to be laid eastward along Highway 136 from the utility's existing station near Ravenwood. The project will bring natural gas service to the communities of Clyde, Conception and Conception Junction.
The primary reason for the six-mile extension is the need for gas service at three neighboring institutions: the Benedictine Sisters convent at Clyde, Conception Abbey/Conception Seminary College and the Jefferson C-123 public school campus.
All three operations currently depend on a combination of LP gas and electric heaters and heat pumps. The addition of natural gas to the local energy mix is expected to produce a significant savings for new Empire customers. This is especially true at the abbey and college, which Kline described as a high-volume propane consumer.
The pipe is being installed at no cost to the institutions involved. Most residents in the three adjoining communities should be able to hook up for free as well, depending on the distance of residences from the main line.
Kline estimated that between 80 and 100 homes in the area will be able to opt for natural gas service when the project is completed sometime in May of June. As always in this part of the country, the exact construction timeline depends on the weather.
Supply as well as demand is driving Empire's decision to expand. Increased natural gas production in the United States means that prices are expected to remain low for some time. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, natural gas prices in January dropped to their lowest level in more than two years and declined 32 percent in 2011.
Despite the cuts, U.S. inventory continues to grow, the Journal reported, since gas is a byproduct of oil production.
"It's a great time to be in the business," Kline told the three-member commission.
New technology is also fueling Empire's ability to bring natural gas to more rural communities. Instead of welding together short lengths of steel pipe as in decades past, crews are able to lay new lines using plastic pipe coiled into 500-foot lengths.
The price of liquid propane gas — long a staple home-heating fuel in rural northwest Missouri — may be rising, but the cost of natural gas fell last month to its lowest level in two years.
That's a formula that adds up to opportunity, say managers with the Empire District Natural Gas Co., which is planning a service expansion in eastern Nodaway County early this spring.
According to Empire engineer Dan Klein and area manager Doug Kline, who met Friday with the Nodaway County Commission, pipe is to be laid eastward along Highway 136 from the utility's existing station near Ravenwood. The project will bring natural gas service to the communities of Clyde, Conception and Conception Junction.
The primary reason for the six-mile extension is the need for gas service at three neighboring institutions: the Benedictine Sisters convent at Clyde, Conception Abbey/Conception Seminary College and the Jefferson C-123 public school campus.
All three operations currently depend on a combination of LP gas and electric heaters and heat pumps. The addition of natural gas to the local energy mix is expected to produce a significant savings for new Empire customers. This is especially true at the abbey and college, which Kline described as a high-volume propane consumer.
The pipe is being installed at no cost to the institutions involved. Most residents in the three adjoining communities should be able to hook up for free as well, depending on the distance of residences from the main line.
Kline estimated that between 80 and 100 homes in the area will be able to opt for natural gas service when the project is completed sometime in May of June. As always in this part of the country, the exact construction timeline depends on the weather.
Supply as well as demand is driving Empire's decision to expand. Increased natural gas production in the United States means that prices are expected to remain low for some time. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, natural gas prices in January dropped to their lowest level in more than two years and declined 32 percent in 2011.
Despite the cuts, U.S. inventory continues to grow, the Journal reported, since gas is a byproduct of oil production.
"It's a great time to be in the business," Kline told the three-member commission.
New technology is also fueling Empire's ability to bring natural gas to more rural communities. Instead of welding together short lengths of steel pipe as in decades past, crews are able to lay new lines using plastic pipe coiled into 500-foot lengths.
Some of the pipe will be laid using a traditional trencher, but Empire also plans to use a GPS-guided excavating system capable of boring a small tunnel at very precise directions and angles. Once the tunnel is complete, the pipe is simple pulled through.
Some of the new line will follow public rights-of-way, but Empire is also working with landowners to gain access to portions of the route that cross private property. All affected land will be cleaned up and re-seeded when construction is complete, Kline said.
If natural gas prices remain low, Kline said he expects the Conception project to be the first of several in his 7,500-customer area, which includes all of Nodaway, Holt and Atchison counties and a small portion of Andrew County.
