I just brought in two new homes on lots that had been empty for likely a long time.
We called up the gas company to put meters back on and activate the lots. The gas company is such a mess it has taken them 2 months to finally schedule a start date.
They are now saying that because the gas lines were uncapped, they aren’t comfortable with pressurizing and using them again, and want to replace the branch line on each lot, and that we have to pay for it ($1200 estimated cost)
This seems like a bit of a racket - they are charging us to maintain their infrastructure.
It doesn’t seem like we have an option though, even if they’re in the wrong here, arguing about it could just cause them to delay the projects for many more months and leave our home stranded.
Has anyone else ever been billed by a gas company to activate service on a lot that has been long dormant but still has the original gas line there?
My inclination is to just pay it all to keep the project moving, but document it, and after we’ve sunk $10,000 into this over several lots consult with a utility billing attorney on if we have any recourse. I’d be curious if anyone else has any thoughts on this.