Special Notice as of 4/20/20

As social distancing practices and proper use of PPE, face masks and gloves have become normalized and as customers are willing to allow properly protected personnel into their homes to complete required work to modernize gas facilities, which is essential work, CenterPoint Energy authorized contractors will enter customer homes to complete work only with customer permission. Please see our customer flyer below: 

 

Installing replacement gas mains: According to the Governor of Minnesota’s order, gas main replacement is an essential work function. This allows for the modernization of related gas facilities. The gas main work requires excavations in various locations in the right-of-way (front yard) to facilitate the installation work.

 

Connecting service lines to the new mains: The purpose of our flyer is to advise that with customer permission, crews will now enter homes to complete necessary gas meter work. If you choose not to allow crews to enter your home, gas service will not be interrupted, and we will reschedule for a time better suited to concerns you may have. Crews will continue to replace service lines. Crews may have to dig in the ground on your property in the utility easement and next to your home to complete the task of service line replacement.

We appreciate your patience as we strive to continue our values of safety. For any questions, please reference and/or contact one of the following resources:

Minnesota Construction Projects​​

CenterPoint Energy works hard to improve and modernize natural gas pipelines and distribution mains th​roughout several neighborhoods in its service territories.

Projects in Your Area​

View project site information, maps, detour routes and more about projects near you.​

​​Why is Construction Necessary?​

  • New pipeline segments and system upgrades are needed to help maintain safety and reliability. 

  • The new piping segments and upgrades are installed with the most current construction standards and requirements, and are designed to facilitate a cost-effective, ongoing inspection process required for all natural gas pipelines. 

What Should I Expect?​​​

  • You will see CenterPoint Energy and our contractors working on the pipeline in your neighborhood. 

  • Construction time will vary depending on the size of the property and the specific construction obstacles encountered. 

  • Construction activities will include: grading (land slope adjustment), excavation of a trench, welding and installation of the pipe, backfilling of the trench with soil and final restoration of the disturbed area with top soil and seed, or asphalt. 

Construction Definitions:

  • ​Natural gas main: A distribution line that services as a common source of supply for at least one natural gas service line.

  • Natural gas service lines: Service line means a distribution line that transports gas from a common source of supply to an individual customer, to two adjacent or adjoining residential or small commercial customers, or to multiple residential or small commercial customers serviced through a meter header or manifold. A service line ends at the outlet of the customer meter or at the connection to a customer’s piping, whichever is further downstream, or at the connection to customer piping if there is no meter. A customer meter is the meter that measures the transfer of gas from an operator to a consumer.

  • Gas meters: An instrument for measuring and indicating or recording the volume of natural gas that passes through it. A gas meter is a device that measures the gas usage by the customer.

  • Sewer lateral locating​: A sewer lateral is customer piping that connects the property’s sewer to the city’s sanitary sewer system or private septic system.

  • Restoration​: Construction activity that returns property to former condition, whether it is the road or yard, at the completion of a construction project or as weather permits. 

CenterPoint Energy understands that constructio​​n activity of this sort can be inconvenient to people living and working in the area.  We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to complete the roject as safely as possible in a reasonable time frame.​​​​​​​​​