Black Hills Energy will be proactively updating natural gas meters in the area.
Beginning late March, you may see them in your neighborhood alleyways. Black Hills Energy will be performing an upgrade that will consist of the replacement of approximately 500 residential and commercial meters that serve customers in and around Gering, Minatare and Scottsbluff.
Relocating meters allows Black Hills Energy and first responders quicker and safer access to the meter in case of an emergency. It also alleviates future interruptions to gas service during routine maintenance.
“This upgrade will allow Black Hills Energy to meet our customers’ current and future energy needs and maintain our industry-leading reliability far into the future,” said Justin Gould, senior operations manager for Black Hills Energy. “We understand updating natural gas service can impact our neighbors’ lives and businesses and we will work to minimize disruptions and restore our work area to its original state.”
During the upgrade, affected customers will be without natural gas for a short time. Customers will be notified by Black Hills Energy’s contractor, Infrasource, prior to any work being done and should expect to have natural gas service restored the same day. Scheduled work will require the contractor to access the homes or businesses at an arranged time to relocate the meter, perform a safety inspection and relight pilot lights when work is completed. Infrasource employees will have identification, branded hard hats and vehicles.
As with any construction activity, there will be excavation in the location where the gas service enters the residence as well as some excavation where the service line connects to the gas main. This is typically out by the street or alley. The contractor will have a restoration crew following behind them to restore any excavation areas including landscaping or paving.
Traffic flow is not expected to be impacted by this construction project, but you will likely see our signage in the area to notify drivers of the work and asking drivers to take necessary precautions as they travel through the area. The work is currently scheduled to begin on March 27th.
