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More than 500 miles of cast iron and steel gas lines to be replaced with plastic

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State approval gives PSE&G the green light to expedite work on replacing lines installed in the early 1990s. The utility also will install excess flow meters that automatically shut off gas when a line is damaged.

Public Service Electric and Gas Co. will be replacing up to 510 miles of aging cast iron gas lines over the next few years, the company announced Monday.

PSE&G received approval Monday from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to expedite the replacement of the gas mains beneath streets and approximately 38,000 service lines feeding homes and businesses. The replacement program will take three years and cost a total of $905 million, the utility said.

The work will occur in urban neighborhoods in PSE&G's service territory served with cast iron and unprotected steel lines installed in the early 1900s, the company said. Cast iron and steel lines are prone to leaks.

"Accelerated replacement of our aging gas pipes ensures we can support a safe, clean and reliable gas system well into the future," said Ralph LaRossa, PSE&G president and COO. "Since 2009, our residential customers' gas heating bills are down 47 percent because of the lower cost of natural gas supply. The timing is right to accelerate this work -- while gas prices remain low."

Customers will begin seeing extra charges on their gas bills to cover the cost of the speeded-up program only after the work in their area is completed, according to the board.

RELATED: PSE&G proposes $1.6 billion gas main modernization program

PSE&G said the additional cost will be 1.5 percent a year over four years. Average customers who use 1,010 therms annually will have a total cumulative increase of $4.80 on their monthly bills, it said.

The utility will replace the lines with plastic lines that are less likely to leak. The improved lines will allow PSE&G to increase gas pressure, which also will allow the company to install excess flow meters. Excess flow meters can detect when too much gas is going through a line — signaling a potentially dangerous rupture — and shut off the line.

To identify lines that are in most need of replacing, PSE&G said it will use data from the Environmental Defense Fund, which developed a program with Google and Colorado State University to detect methane emissions from natural gas distribution systems.

"PSE&G is the first gas utility to provide extensive information to EDF on its existing gas system and on its method of targeting mains for replacement," said Jonathan Peress, Air Policy Director for Natural Gas for the defense fund.

Work is expected to begin in the spring.

PSE&G has 3,000 miles of cast iron and 1,000 miles of steel lines, said PSE&G spokeswoman Brooke Houston. Without approval to expedite the replacement of the lines — and recover the costs — it would take PSE&G 100 years to replace them all, she said. With the speeded-up process, the company could replace them in 30 years, she said.

Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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