BUCKSPORT, Maine — Residents will learn about a company’s plan to extend natural gas lines into downtown during a forum to be held Tuesday.
The forum will be held at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of Bucksport Middle School. Representatives from Bangor Gas will be on hand to outline the company’s plans to lay natural gas lines from the Verso mill to the town’s schools later this year and to answer questions from the public.
Homeowners and business owners along the planned route will be offered the opportunity to connect to the gas lines; however, the extent of the expansion depends on how much interest Bangor Gas receives from the public.
Representatives from several financial institutions and heating installation companies will also be on hand to explain their services and answer questions. For more information on the forum, contact Dave Milan with Bucksport’s economic development department at 469-7368 or davemilan@bucksport.biz.
My wallet is vibrating already, with the thought that the gas company will naturally ask for a property tax exemption, and that the Town Council will cheerfully give it to them. As a regulated utility, the State of Maine pretty much guarantees the gas company its operating expenses and a return of and on its investment.
End up like a dog that’s been beat too much
’til you spend half your life just covering up.
Right now, the cost to heat a house with natural gas is about a quarter of the cost to heat with oil. However, you’ll need a different furnace or boiler to take advantage of this. Still, the cost of the new boiler, along with some weatherization, is a lot less than paying for the oil, year after year.
Bucksport is a town that has adopted the Pace Weatherization Loan program, so out of pocket costs are not an issue. Efficiency Maine administers that program. Call them for details or go to efficiencymaine.com. The loan requires an energy audit so that they know how much heat, and money, you’ll save. This way, they know the savings will cover the cost of the loan. They cover closing costs and work with you to get weatherization contractors paid with loan money as those bills come due. With the house buttoned up, you won’t need as large of natural gas furnace, so it decreases that equipment cost. You’ll go from paying for oil to paying a lot less for gas and the loan payment combined. Your house will be warmer and more comfortable because of the weatherization work.
Even if the gas line doesn’t make it down your street, the energy audit and weatherization is worth doing. Last year, the average Efficiency Maine supervised home weatherization project saved the homeowner 41% on their heating bill and paid for itself in about five years.
The difficult part is getting multiple people on a street to sign up for natural gas. Even though it’s much cheaper than heating oil, it requires a buried line, and Bangor Natural Gas won’t dig up a whole street to put in a gas line for one house. Neighbors have to work together to get gas lines installed.