Service Equipment Responsibilities

Understanding how natural gas is delivered to your home or business can help you understand how to best care for your equipment, especially during emergencies.

A natural gas service connects the gas main to a customer’s gas regulator/meter. The regulator is a special valve designed to reduce pressure, as well as shut-off flow in the event of a gas pressure increase. The meter measures the demand or quantity of natural gas (as cubic feet) required by the appliances served in the structure.

A union or connection is where the meter is attached to the line or pipe entering the structure.

We are responsible for all equipment prior to entering the building*.

This includes the gas service pipe, the regulator and the meter.

*Occasionally, meters are located inside the building instead of outside. In these infrequent cases, company-owned piping enters the building and we are responsible for all equipment up to and including the meter.

We need to be able to access your meter at all times for routine maintenance and in case of emergency. Customers are responsible for keeping the three feet around their meter clear of trees, shrubs, snow and ice, in addition to all equipment inside the building*, beginning at the meter.

This includes the union (where the meter is attached to the line or pipe entering the structure) and all lines after the union, including those within the structure. In some cases, the line from the meter to the structure is buried; however, the customer is also responsible for the maintenance of this line.

Learn more about gas meter safety →

*Occasionally, meters are located inside the building instead of outside. In these infrequent cases, company-owned piping enters the building and we are responsible for all equipment up to and including the meter.

Our natural gas system is governed by Federal regulations, which recommend that customers with natural gas lines buried from the meter to the primary structure should be:

• In compliance with the National Fuel Gas Code NFPA 54
• Periodically inspected for leaks
• Periodically inspected for corrosion if the piping is metallic
• Repaired if any unsafe condition is discovered

Plumbing or heating contractors can assist customers in inspecting and repairing the buried piping. When digging near buried gas piping, customers should locate the piping in advance and dig by hand, not machine. Notify DigSafe® at digsafe.com or call 811 prior to any breaking of ground.

If you're looking for underground lines to be identified, you'll likely need to hire a member utility via DigSafe, or a private locating service directly. Learn more and find DigSafe's list of private locating services here.