American Energy Coalition
Contrary to claims that natural gas
is "clean, efficient, dependable and
environmentally friendly," a number of studies and reports "suggest
none of those attributes are true
and/or correct," said Tom Tubman,
executive director of AEC. He said
natural gas is 95 percent methane
and is a more potent greenhouse
gas than carbon dioxide.
injured 465 others, and caused more than $800 million in
property damage."
Markey said consumers "shouldn't have to pay for billions
of dollars in fuel that never even makes it to their homes. "Every
leaky pipeline is like a hole in consumers' pockets. We need to
speed up the replacement of old natural gas infrastructure to
reduce accidents, pollution, and waste."
The report uses Massachusetts as a case study, finding that
a few companies are responsible for the lion's share of leaks.
Three companies, Boston Gas, Colonial Gas, and Nstar Gas,
accounted for 80 percent of these passed-on costs from 20002011, according to the report.
As a group, Boston Gas customers paid the most, covering
an estimated $352 to $781 million in unaccounted for gas costs,
followed by Nstar Gas customers at $109 to $229 million, and
Colonial Gas customers at $92 to $221 million.
On a per customer basis, Westfield Gas & Electric customers
paid the most (about $304 to $2,426 per customer) because of
the company's small customer base relative to its unaccounted
for gas levels. Boston Gas, New England Gas, Nstar Gas and
Essex Gas customers each paid over $370 to $875 on average in
lost and unaccounted for gas costs from 2000-2011.
Drawing attention to such practices by the natural gas industry is part of the AEC's attempt to preserve oil heat in homes,
Tubman said. "We're trying to limit any further conversions to
natural gas," he said. l F ON
www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | NOVEMBER 2013
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