PSE&G Plans Gas Line Upgrades in North Caldwell

PSE&G will begin upgrading North Caldwell's gas facilities next week as part of the Energy String program.

The utility will be installing new gas mains, as well as upgrading associated service lines that carry the gas to homes and businesses. In addition to North Caldwell, the work will also be done in Paterson, Totowa and Woodland Park.

The work will begin on or about Monday, July 21 and will take place Monday through Saturday between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. 

Customers will be notified when work is about to begin in their area. This upgrade is part of PSE&G’s recently approved Energy Strong program to strengthen and protect the state’s electric and gas infrastructure from severe weather. Customers can find a list of affected streets at www.pseg.com/energystrong. 

As part of Energy Strong, PSE&G will replace 250 miles of older cast iron main with new plastic pipe in or near flood areas throughout its service territory. The utility will replace the first 88 miles this year, with the remainder scheduled for replacement in 2015. These new pipes will prevent water from entering the mains, increasing the reliability of gas service in these locations.

“We’re working to start building the resiliency into our systems needed to withstand the kind of severe weather that has devastated our state in recent years,” said Ralph LaRossa, PSE&G president and COO. “The gas pipes we are replacing were impacted by flood waters from Hurricane Irene or the storm surges from Superstorm Sandy. Once this work is done, our gas system in these areas will be better protected during future storms."

To upgrade the mains, it will be necessary to dig trenches in the roadway to install the new pipe. As a result, there may be road closures and/or detours. Local police will be on the scene to direct vehicle and pedestrian traffic.  At the end of each workday, the trenches will be filled in. Plates will be secured on any other open areas so people can safely drive and walk.

Once the gas mains are upgraded, PSE&G will need to access customers’ homes to connect their service and meter to the new main. PSE&G will contact homeowners to arrange a date and time to do the work. During this reconnection, customers will be without gas service for approximately four hours.