Consultants enter Kennebec Valley natural gas fray
Consultants for the City of Augusta have weighed in on which natural gas provider — Maine Natural Gas or Summit Natural Gas of Maine — stands to save the town more money. Their answer: It depends.
The Morning Sentinel reported the Hopkinton, Mass.-based firm Energy Market Decisions told city councilors that Summit’s proposal would save the city about $19,000 more on heating for municipal and school buildings while the Maine Natural Gas proposal stands to save the city’s residential customers more money, despite reaching fewer customers.
Not counting fees, the consultants estimated a resident stands to save $1,173 over 10 years under the Maine Natural Gas pricing scheme.
Overall, the paper reported, consultants came out on the side of Summit, pointing to its goal of converting 90% of Augusta residents to natural gas heat with 161 miles of pipeline through the city. By comparison, Maine Natural Gas plans to build out 57 miles of distribution lines to reach an estimated 70% of Augusta residents.
Both companies, which are vying for a contract to provide natural gas to municipal and school buildings, told the paper they are still analyzing the consultants’ report and are making some changes to their proposals following interviews with those consultants.
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