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xoxoxoBruce · 12-13-2014, 01:05 AM

The people on Cape Cod, MA got a surprise. There's been a lot of talk about fracking giving us plentiful, cheap, natural gas for the next hundred years. So a lot of people who have to make a choice when building, remodeling, or replacing clapped out equipment, are choosing gas.

On the Cape, like most places, to build or change they get a permit from the town and submit a request to the gas supplier. As soon as the permit is issued the work begins and in about a month the request to the gas supplier is routinely approved.
Until this past October.
Suddenly every request was shot down, and the gas people announced a plan to divide the Cape into three zones, yes, no, and maybe. They decided to reduce the pressure in the mains for safety until they can be replaced which will take until 2019.

By creating a shortage while demand is increasing, it's much easier to slide in rate increases to pay for all this new infrastructure. 'Hey, gas went up 20% but I'm just glad I can get it at all.'
One guy in the paper was saying his company, which installs gas powered emergency power systems, employs five full time and four part time electricians. He's going to be put out of business as he has a franchised area so he can't just go elsewhere. I'm pretty sure there will be other tales from other areas, of curiouser and curiouser happenings.

12-13-2014, 01:05 AM	#3
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	The people on Cape Cod, MA got a surprise. There's been a lot of talk about fracking giving us plentiful, cheap, natural gas for the next hundred years. So a lot of people who have to make a choice when building, remodeling, or replacing clapped out equipment, are choosing gas. On the Cape, like most places, to build or change they get a permit from the town and submit a request to the gas supplier. As soon as the permit is issued the work begins and in about a month the request to the gas supplier is routinely approved. Until this past October. Suddenly every request was shot down, and the gas people announced a plan to divide the Cape into three zones, yes, no, and maybe. They decided to reduce the pressure in the mains for safety until they can be replaced which will take until 2019. By creating a shortage while demand is increasing, it's much easier to slide in rate increases to pay for all this new infrastructure. 'Hey, gas went up 20% but I'm just glad I can get it at all.' One guy in the paper was saying his company, which installs gas powered emergency power systems, employs five full time and four part time electricians. He's going to be put out of business as he has a franchised area so he can't just go elsewhere. I'm pretty sure there will be other tales from other areas, of curiouser and curiouser happenings. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.