May 30, 2025

The Energy Cooperative is improving our natural gas systems in the east Newark area. This construction includes replacing older natural gas supply pipelines. The affected streets include Belle Vista Ave, Butler Rd NE, Garfield Ave, Jones Ave, Linwood Ave, and McKinley Ave.

We replace our main lines based on age, condition, and possibly location. Many of the service lines, from the main line to your house, were installed at the same time and may also need to be replaced based on age and condition. The homeowner owns the service line, and the replacement cost is the homeowner's responsibility. However, The Energy Cooperative is offering to replace deficient service lines directly affected by our construction at no cost to you.  We will also relocate any inside meters to the outside of the structure or home for safety reasons. If your meter is currently located inside your house or building, we will make arrangements with you to move the meter outside at no cost to you. If your service line or meter is directly affected, an inspector will contact you to install the new service line.

The Energy Cooperative is working with our mainline contractor, R&R Pipeline (R&R), to identify and replace these service lines and to move the gas meters to the outside. R&R will repair your yard, including backfilling the ditch line, raking, seeding, and placing straw on the disturbed areas. If your meter is located in a mulched or decorative area, we ask that you remove anything that could be disturbed if it is valuable to you. This includes flowers, shrubs, decorative stone, matting, and mulch. If you choose not to remove these items, we will work around them on a best-efforts basis. We will rake aside the mulch and/or decorative stone, complete our work, and rake the cover back, but will not provide additional materials.

We ask that you always maintain a clear path to your meter for safety. Do not plant shrubs, trees, or landscaping to hide your meter or obstruct access during an emergency. If your meter is surrounded by concrete or asphalt, we will work with you to determine a solution to maintain your natural gas service. We suggest you water and tend to the ditch line excavation after we leave to ensure your yard returns to normal as quickly as possible. Upon completion of our main line and service line work, we will have a service technician report to your home to pressure test your interior lines to ensure your safety. Any leakage found on your house lines will be your responsibility, and all gas lines must be brought up to current standards and pass a leak test before gas service can be restored.

If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with our member services department at 740-344-2102. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.