(March 17, 2016) Thirty minutes before the town hall meeting with Sandpiper Energy began last Thursday night in the Ocean Pines Community Center, the room was largely vacant, save for about a dozen uniformly dressed Sandpiper representatives.
Personnel from the Chesapeake Utilities subsidy were on hand with their matching blue shirts to address concerns about the community-wide conversion from propane to natural gas.
But 10 minutes before the 6 p.m. starting time, homeowners started to arrive en masse, with the swell leading to a standing-room-only crowd gathered in the back of the large room.
Sandpiper workers moved quickly, setting up additional seating throughout the room, and by the time the town hall was underway, estimates were that more than 150 homeowners had come out to hear what the energy company had to say.
Contract negotiations with Sandpiper concerning the conversion drug on for more than two years and stalled out at least once, causing the Ocean Pines board of directors to rethink its approach and tap General Manager Bob Thompson to lead the talks that had previously been handled by a tag team of board members.
After the agreement was finalized in December, the company went to work on the lengthy conversion process, which is estimated to take several years and include more than 4,000 homes and 60 miles of gas mains.
Although the company had been providing regular updates on the Ocean Pines Association website, there was still plenty of confusion as to just how the conversion process would work – and it what it would require from homeowners – as evidenced by the larger-than-expected crowd.
“It’s great to see everybody out tonight. It’s been several years getting to this point,” Thompson said at the start. “We did not anticipate quite this many people. Next time, let us know you’re coming out – we’ll do it in the gym.”
Thompson said he worked closely with Sandpiper Senior Vice President Stephen Thompson on the contract, which included a 10-year ground lease, five-year service agreement and a perpetual, nonexclusive deed of easement, with a total estimated value at nearly $400,000 for the OPA.
He added representatives of parent company Chesapeake rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange opening one day earlier, and quipped that Sandpiper staff “bought all new shirts just to come to our meeting.”
Thompson then introduced Sandpiper Vice President Jim Moore and Energy Services Director Shane Breakie.
“When you guys have a meeting, you have a meeting,” Moore said. “Wow.”
Moore said the town hall would consist of an overview of the conversion process, followed by “break-out sessions,” allowing homeowners to ask questions of the various Sandpiper representatives on an individual basis.
A few times, he struggled to keep order during the roughly 45-minute presentation, but Breakie largely breezed through the history of the company, which dates back to 1859, when it was called Dover Gas.
More recently, in 2013, Chesapeake purchased the operating assets of Eastern Shore Gas, which became the basis of Sandpiper.
“The company has been here for over 160 years, and we plan to be here for another 160,” he said. “We’re here for the long haul. We want to do this as quickly as possible, but we’re always going to put safety first.”
Breakie said the benefits of natural gas were its abundant supply – he estimated more than 100 years of stock – and the fact that it was domestically produced, with 99 percent of natural gas consumed in the United State originating in North America.
Moreover, he said natural gas was cleaner, lowering emissions and reducing the carbon footprint, and safer than other fossil fuel alternatives. When three large energy consumers in the area signed contracts with Sandpiper, Breakie said that deal alone displaced more than 700,000 gallons of oil in the county, and would cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,600 tons each year.
Of the conversion itself, Breakie said Sandpiper started in the Newport and Teal Bay areas in January.
When the utility moves into a new area, it sends post card notifications four-to-six weeks in advance, and sets up temporary propane tanks, taking homes off of underground systems so customers continue to receive service.
Gas lines are then purged of the remaining propane, which can require “flaring,” often seen as bright yellow flames. Next, meter bars and meter stops are installed, and existing appliances are surveyed. A week into the process, once systems are purged, natural gas begins flowing through the mains.
Leak surveys and conversions are then scheduled, and Breakie said conversion coordinators call each costumer individually to set up times.
On the day of conversions, piping is pressure tested, and step-down regulators are installed in each natural gas appliance in the home. If appliances have to be replaced, conversion coordinators will explain the operation of the new systems. Breakie said Sandpiper would pay for the overhead of any new systems installed, which will then be rolled into energy bills gradually.
After the conversion, propane tanks are removed, and the company moves on to the next conversion.
“We’re three months into a four-year process,” Breakie said. “Please bear with us. There are some growing pains.”
He added that the company would do its best to work with nonresident homeowners, and said the process was becoming smoother with each new conversion. To date, he said Sandpiper has converted more than 2,500 homes and businesses in the county, including the town of Berlin and West Ocean City.
During a frequently asked questions segment, Breakie said bills would not immediately go down, because rates were still largely blended with propane, but as the conversion moved closer to 50 percent, customers should see a decrease. He estimated current prices were about $2 per gallon for natural gas.
“You will not see an immediate impact on your bill when you switch to natural gas,” Breakie said. “Right now, we have a little bit over 10,000 costumers [and] we’ve converted 2,500 customers. So we have 2,500 customers on natural gas and 7,500 that are on propane. When you blend that together, we still have 75 percent of our commodity based on propane pricing.”
At the end of the presentation, about half the crowd stayed on to ask questions at four information stations in the rear of the room. The rest filed out into the warm late-winter night, perhaps a little more knowledgeable, a little more assured and a little less claustrophobic.
Personnel from the Chesapeake Utilities subsidy were on hand with their matching blue shirts to address concerns about the community-wide conversion from propane to natural gas.
But 10 minutes before the 6 p.m. starting time, homeowners started to arrive en masse, with the swell leading to a standing-room-only crowd gathered in the back of the large room.
Sandpiper workers moved quickly, setting up additional seating throughout the room, and by the time the town hall was underway, estimates were that more than 150 homeowners had come out to hear what the energy company had to say.
Contract negotiations with Sandpiper concerning the conversion drug on for more than two years and stalled out at least once, causing the Ocean Pines board of directors to rethink its approach and tap General Manager Bob Thompson to lead the talks that had previously been handled by a tag team of board members.
After the agreement was finalized in December, the company went to work on the lengthy conversion process, which is estimated to take several years and include more than 4,000 homes and 60 miles of gas mains.
Although the company had been providing regular updates on the Ocean Pines Association website, there was still plenty of confusion as to just how the conversion process would work – and it what it would require from homeowners – as evidenced by the larger-than-expected crowd.
“It’s great to see everybody out tonight. It’s been several years getting to this point,” Thompson said at the start. “We did not anticipate quite this many people. Next time, let us know you’re coming out – we’ll do it in the gym.”
Thompson said he worked closely with Sandpiper Senior Vice President Stephen Thompson on the contract, which included a 10-year ground lease, five-year service agreement and a perpetual, nonexclusive deed of easement, with a total estimated value at nearly $400,000 for the OPA.
He added representatives of parent company Chesapeake rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange opening one day earlier, and quipped that Sandpiper staff “bought all new shirts just to come to our meeting.”
Thompson then introduced Sandpiper Vice President Jim Moore and Energy Services Director Shane Breakie.
“When you guys have a meeting, you have a meeting,” Moore said. “Wow.”
Moore said the town hall would consist of an overview of the conversion process, followed by “break-out sessions,” allowing homeowners to ask questions of the various Sandpiper representatives on an individual basis.
A few times, he struggled to keep order during the roughly 45-minute presentation, but Breakie largely breezed through the history of the company, which dates back to 1859, when it was called Dover Gas.
More recently, in 2013, Chesapeake purchased the operating assets of Eastern Shore Gas, which became the basis of Sandpiper.
“The company has been here for over 160 years, and we plan to be here for another 160,” he said. “We’re here for the long haul. We want to do this as quickly as possible, but we’re always going to put safety first.”
Breakie said the benefits of natural gas were its abundant supply – he estimated more than 100 years of stock – and the fact that it was domestically produced, with 99 percent of natural gas consumed in the United State originating in North America.
Moreover, he said natural gas was cleaner, lowering emissions and reducing the carbon footprint, and safer than other fossil fuel alternatives. When three large energy consumers in the area signed contracts with Sandpiper, Breakie said that deal alone displaced more than 700,000 gallons of oil in the county, and would cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,600 tons each year.
Of the conversion itself, Breakie said Sandpiper started in the Newport and Teal Bay areas in January.
When the utility moves into a new area, it sends post card notifications four-to-six weeks in advance, and sets up temporary propane tanks, taking homes off of underground systems so customers continue to receive service.
Gas lines are then purged of the remaining propane, which can require “flaring,” often seen as bright yellow flames. Next, meter bars and meter stops are installed, and existing appliances are surveyed. A week into the process, once systems are purged, natural gas begins flowing through the mains.
Leak surveys and conversions are then scheduled, and Breakie said conversion coordinators call each costumer individually to set up times.
On the day of conversions, piping is pressure tested, and step-down regulators are installed in each natural gas appliance in the home. If appliances have to be replaced, conversion coordinators will explain the operation of the new systems. Breakie said Sandpiper would pay for the overhead of any new systems installed, which will then be rolled into energy bills gradually.
After the conversion, propane tanks are removed, and the company moves on to the next conversion.
“We’re three months into a four-year process,” Breakie said. “Please bear with us. There are some growing pains.”
He added that the company would do its best to work with nonresident homeowners, and said the process was becoming smoother with each new conversion. To date, he said Sandpiper has converted more than 2,500 homes and businesses in the county, including the town of Berlin and West Ocean City.
During a frequently asked questions segment, Breakie said bills would not immediately go down, because rates were still largely blended with propane, but as the conversion moved closer to 50 percent, customers should see a decrease. He estimated current prices were about $2 per gallon for natural gas.
“You will not see an immediate impact on your bill when you switch to natural gas,” Breakie said. “Right now, we have a little bit over 10,000 costumers [and] we’ve converted 2,500 customers. So we have 2,500 customers on natural gas and 7,500 that are on propane. When you blend that together, we still have 75 percent of our commodity based on propane pricing.”
At the end of the presentation, about half the crowd stayed on to ask questions at four information stations in the rear of the room. The rest filed out into the warm late-winter night, perhaps a little more knowledgeable, a little more assured and a little less claustrophobic.