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Do
you have other questions about obtaining natural gas
service?
Question:
What is the process for obtaining natural gas
service?
Answer:
Natural gas has become the energy source of choice
for the overwhelming majority of new homeowners in
Southern Idaho.
And every year, more and more existing
homeowners throughout our
service
territory convert to natural gas.
We are proud to point out that Intermountain
Gas Company celebrated the addition of our 200,000th
customer during 1999, and we're still growing, with
over 240,000 at the end of 2003. To
find out some of the advantages of natural gas, we
encourage you to take a look at Why
Choose Natural Gas.
If
you plan to build a new home, consider using natural
gas appliances wherever possible - space heat, water
heating, fireplace, cooking, clothes drying,
barbecue, radiant patio heat, pool/spa heater, sauna
heat, garage/shop/stable space heat, outdoor
lighting, driveway/sidewalk snow melt - there
are many
wonderful uses for natural gas.
In a new home it's simple to have the gas
piping installed before the walls are covered.
Talk with your builder and your gas equipment
dealer. They
can handle all the arrangements.
If
you wish to convert your existing home to natural
gas, we advise people to get cost estimates from at
least 2 or 3 heating dealers in your area.
In most cases, the dealer you select can
handle the entire process, including coordinating
with Intermountain Gas Company for your service line
installation. Depending
on the time of year, your gas service line will be
installed anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks after you sign
the service line agreement. One word of caution,
however. In
many parts of our service territory, Idaho's
sometimes harsh winter weather can delay service
line installation for many weeks. In an instance
such as a mid-winter emergency no-heat situation,
Intermountain Gas Company will make every effort to install your service
line as quickly as possible, provided all the
required parameters have been met--see next section. Don't wait until winter to replace an aging furnace.
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Question:
How much will it
cost to have the gas line to my house installed?
Answer:
If our gas main is located on your street, in front
of your home, Intermountain Gas Company can,
typically run up to 135 feet of service
line to a 1,500 square-foot home using a natural gas
furnace free of charge. The
rules and regulations under which we operate require
that each customer's individual natural gas
consumption must justify the capital cost necessary
to serve that customer.
In other words, the bigger your home, and the
more gas appliances you install, the higher your
potential gas usage, and therefore, the greater
investment we can make to provide natural gas
service.
Many
times, a prospective customer is located so far away
from our mains that despite the size of their home
and the number of appliances they wish to install,
they must make a cash contribution to the cost of
running the line to serve them.
Each instance is handled on a case by case
basis. The
best way to find out is to use our
Contact
New Service Lines-Sales form and
a Consumer Sales Representative will contact you.
They can provide all of the information
you'll need. Again,
your heating dealer can help with this process, as
well.
One
caveat: The
cost calculations Intermountain Gas Company makes with regard to providing
service assume that newly-served customers install
and utilize all of the natural gas equipment they
agreed to when they signed up to get the service
line installed.
This is regardless of whether the service
line was free or if the customer made a cash
contribution to the cost of the service line.
If the customer does not install and utilize
the equipment they agreed to within the time
specified on the service line agreement, that
customer may have to reimburse Intermountain Gas
Company for up to the
entire cost of the service line, over and above any
cash contribution they may have already made.
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Question:
When is the best time of year to convert to natural
gas?
Answer:
Right now is the best time to begin enjoying the
comfort and value of natural gas service. Don't wait
for your old furnace to quit on you in the middle of
freezing weather. The IGC construction crews can
generally install service lines year-round. If you
are considering converting to natural gas, use the
Contact
New Service Lines-Sales form
and
a Consumer Sales Representative will contact you. Why wait
to begin enjoying the advantages of natural gas.
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Question:
Is natural gas available at my home or business?
Answer:
The Intermountain Gas Company system serves most of
the communities throughout southern Idaho.
If a nearby neighbor has natural gas service,
then the chances are it's available to you.
If you are unsure as to the availability of
Natural Gas, go to the
Service Territory Map
to verify if your area is served by Intermountain
Gas Company. You can use the
Contact
New Service Lines-Sales form to contact an
Intermountain Gas Company Consumer Sales
Representative. Most heating dealers will handle
these details for you, as well.
If you are building a new home, once you know
that Natural Gas is available, make sure that your
builder includes Natural Gas equipment wherever
applicable.
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Question:
Do I need to
install both a natural gas furnace and a water
heater?
Answer:
Whether a new home or an existing-home conversion,
we encourage you to specify both a natural gas
furnace and water heater.
Intermountain Gas Company's RS-2 residential
gas price is considerably lower
on average to those customers who heat both their
home and their water with Natural Gas.
The higher RS-1 residential gas price applies
to those customers who do not have both a Natural
Gas furnace and a Natural Gas water heater.
Many homeowners find that the overall savings
on both space and water heating because of the lower
RS-2 price more than compensates for the additional
cost of a water heater conversion.
Plus, a natural gas water heater has a much
faster recovery time than an electric unit.
Virtually all of the new single-family homes
that use natural gas also choose a natural gas water
heater. Of
course, the lower RS-2 price applies to all of your
gas appliances, once you have both a natural gas
furnace and water heater.
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Question:
Should I install a high-efficiency natural gas
furnace?
Answer:
Intermountain
Gas Company
encourages conservation of our natural resources
through the use of high-efficiency equipment
whenever possible.
We would recommend that you approach the
decision from an economic basis as well.
That is to say, will the cost savings in
using a high-tech furnace justify the additional
cost of the equipment?
The Cost Comparison
can give you
some guidance in the potential savings.
If you convert your existing home from
another energy source to a 90% or greater efficiency
natural gas furnace, you may be eligible for a $200
cash rebate.
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