Texas Gas Service asks customers to conserve to help avoid outage

AUSTIN, Texas - As frigid weather hits Texas, Texas Gas Service is encouraging its customers to practice simple energy-saving tips and conservation efforts to help reduce the number of people who could potentially lose service during extremely cold conditions and avoid a large outage situation.

Officials say the reason why these measures need to be taken is that suppliers of natural gas are experiencing freezing gas wells due to the cold duration and it's impacting the amount of gas they're able to provide.

"Due to the extended duration of historically low temperatures, we are seeing much higher natural gas use and natural gas prices have gone up," said Kent Shortridge, vice president of operations for Texas Gas Service. "While we do not markup the price of natural gas, these events will have an impact on customer bills. At this time, we can’t quantify what the impact will be."

There have been few outages as of right now but officials are concerned and are planning for possible shortages and putting measures in place to keep gas service to customers and critical facilities.

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 7 AUSTIN WAPP

If you lose electricity, officials ask that you turn off your furnace. They say once the power comes back on you should wait 10 minutes and then restart your furnace. This will help the natural gas system adjust to the increase in usage and avoid any further disruptions.

Energy-saving Measures to Reduce Natural Gas Usage

To help better manage your energy consumption over the extended winter period and help reduce your energy bills, Texas Gas Service encourages these effective, conservation measures:

• Keep warm, not hot When possible wear additional layers of clothing, consider turning down your thermostat, and check your programmable settings.
• Seal leaks around doors and windows Apply weatherstripping or caulk to seal gaps and cracks around windows and doors to stop air leaks and prevent energy loss. If that is not an option, you can also cover windows with towels, sheets, or plastic to help keep the warm air in your house. 
• Reduce the temperature on your water heater Set the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or put it on the "warm" setting. If your home will be vacant for two days or more, set the dial to the pilot position for even more savings.
• Close blinds and curtains This helps keep warm air inside, especially if the sun is not shining.
• Change or clean filters
• A clean filter on your furnace can lower your energy consumption by 5% to 15%. Dirty filters cost more to use and overwork the equipment.
• Hold off on doing chores Doing laundry and washing dishes can both use natural gas to heat the water and your dryer. If you can, wait until the extreme cold weather passes to complete these activities. If you cannot wait, use the cold setting where possible.
• Install foam gaskets on electrical switches and outlets Electrical switches and outlets can account for up to 10% of your home’s energy loss.

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 7 AUSTIN NEWS APP

Additionally, remember these safety tips:

• Never use your stove or oven for home heating.
• Make sure nothing obstructs a furnace’s air intake and that vents and flues are intact and unblocked to avoid the potential of carbon monoxide poisoning.
• When removing ice and snow in the vicinity of meters, vents or flues, do so carefully so as not to cause damage.
• Leave cabinet doors open, especially those on exterior walls, to reduce the risk of frozen pipes.
• If you smell a natural gas odor, leave the area immediately then call 911 and Texas Gas Service at 800-959-5325.

Customers are encouraged to visit TexasGasService.com/severecold for any company severe weather updates.

SIGN UP FOR FOX 7 AUSTIN EMAIL ALERTS

Track your local forecast for the Austin area quickly with the free FOX 7 WAPP. The design gives you radar, hourly, and 7-day weather information just by scrolling. Our weather alerts will warn you early and help you stay safe during storms.