NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Con Edison is
installing 376,000 smart-technology natural gas detectors for
customers in New York City and
Westchester County, providing an
unprecedented level of protection against potentially dangerous
leaks.
The distribution of the detectors follows a successful pilot in
which Con Edison provided 9,000 detectors. Those detectors sounded
250 alarms since the first installations in October 2018.
The company places the detectors at the spot inside the building
where the gas service line enters. When the detector senses natural
gas, it sounds an alarm and voice warning. It also alerts
operators at Con Edison's Gas Emergency Response Center, who notify
the local fire department.
"This is a life-saving technology," said Marc Huestis, Con Edison's senior vice
president, Gas Operations. "These detectors urge anyone nearby to
leave and prompt a swift response from our gas crews and the local
fire department so that they can shut off the gas, find the leak
and make it safe."
The alarm will sound until Con Edison silences the unit. The
voice recording advises occupants to evacuate and call 911 from
outside the building.
Using a phone, turning lights, appliances or a flashlight on or
off, lighting a match or starting a car can create a spark and
cause the gas to ignite.
New Rochelle resident
Clarence Stanley was part of the
pilot program and he's thankful that he was.
One night this summer, he got out of bed to watch TV and catch
up on sports scores and the political shows he enjoys when he heard
the alarm. He woke his wife and called Con Edison from a phone not
located near the basement. A Con Edison representative who answered
advised him to leave the house.
By the time of his call, Con Edison and New Rochelle fire personnel were already on
their way. As the Stanleys waited outside, the crews arrived.
It turned out that there was a small gas leak, which Con Edison
repaired.
"This is an extra layer of protection and I'm glad we had it,"
Stanley said of the device. "It was a small leak but this
ultra-sensitive device detected it."
Con Edison was the first utility in the United States to deploy the technology, a
product of New Cosmos, when it began the pilot in Lower Manhattan
and several Westchester County
communities.
The company has 376,000 gas service lines, which carry gas from
the main in the street to the customer's home or business. Those
lines serve the company's 1.1 million gas customers. The service
line usually enters the building in the basement near the gas
meter.
The company will install all the detectors by 2025 under a
$130 million program. Each
installation takes less than an hour and there is no charge to the
customer. Installation does not require gas service to be turned
off and customers do not have to perform any maintenance on the
detectors once they are installed.
The devices will not detect gas in other areas of a building.
Con Edison recommends that building owners and tenants place gas
detectors in areas where natural gas appliances are used.
The current version of the detector lasts six years. Due to
technology improvements, those installed starting in the middle of
next year will last seven years and those installed starting in
2023 will have a 10-year lifespan.
How to Recognize a Gas Leak
A person in a building may
smell natural gas before the detector's alarm sounds. If you think
you smell gas, act fast. Leave the home or business and take others
with you. Report the leak by calling 911 or 1-800-75CONED once you
are safely outside. Do not assume that someone else will call.
Natural gas carries an odorant that smells like rotten eggs. A
leak may cause a roaring, hissing or whistling sound. See other
natural gas safety tips.
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc.
[NYSE: ED], one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy
companies, with approximately $13
billion in annual revenues and $59
billion in assets. The utility delivers electricity, natural
gas and steam to 3.5 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. For financial,
operations and customer service information, visit conEd.com. For
energy efficiency information, visit coned.com/energyefficiency.
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SOURCE Consolidated Edison Company of New York