I don=92t know about other states or gas companies but here in Southern Cal= ifornia, unless it=92s an emergency, per The Gas Company rules, as a licens= ed contractor or resident, you have to call the gas company before you can = turn-off the gas to a house from the meter?
{{
Call your local gas company.
That said I don't know about California but all the states I've lived there was a gas cut off a the meter that the homeowner could shut off the gas (same with water and electric).
Disconnect is another matter.
How would they even know if you turned off the gas and then turned it back on? I is simply a valve before the meter.
If the meter reader happens to come and see that the valve is turned-off,= =20 he calls it in and you get a =93closing bill=94 at the end of the month=20 where you will have to pay $25.00 to re-start your bill/service.
Must be a local thing not the case where I've lived.
and how are they to know it wasn't an emergency? I know in northern california most of the meters are remotely read, can't imagine what with the subsidies they got that gas companies in southern california aren't remotely read, so no problem with meter readers.
or if everything you say is true, you can just state that the meter reader was wrong...who are they going to believe?
Done right, they won't know. Done wrong, they will know because they have to send out a serviceman to light your pilots, bleed the lines, etc. Usually, these rules are to protect themselves from ignorant homeowners.
I've also known a few people to make gas connections without turning the gas off. It is low pressure so they just broke the connection and made a quick reconnection with a valve and piped the rest of the line from there.
Depending on local and state laws, you may have to have a licensed gas fitter do the work and have an inspection done afterwards.
=93and how are they to know it wasn't an emergency?=94
I=92m afraid I have a lot of trouble lying.
=93I know in northern california most of the meters are remotely read, can= 't imagine what with the subsidies they got that gas companies in southern = california aren't remotely read, so no problem with meter readers.=94
No remote anything where I turned-off the gas.=20
"or if everything you say is true, you can just state that the meter reader= was=20 wrong...who are they going to believe?"
I don=92t have any trouble leaving out certain facts but it=92s almost impo= ssible for me to lie about anything. One of the reasons my spouse married m= e I guess.
I'm a licensed contractor and I didn't know about this law until today.
I'm of the opinion that if you have to turn off the gas for any purpose, that amounts to an emergency
who provides your natural gas?
of course this all comes down to "why not call the gas company in the first place"?
alifornia, unless it=92s an emergency, per The Gas Company rules, as a lice= nsed contractor or resident, you have to call the gas company before you ca= n turn-off the gas to a house from the meter?
Please provide cite.....
cheers Bob
alifornia, unless it=92s an emergency, per The Gas Company rules, as a lice= nsed contractor or resident, you have to call the gas company before you ca= n turn-off the gas to a house from the meter?
Weird. The recommendation here is that if you smell gas, shut off the gas, open the windows, don't operate electrical appliances and call the gas company. I can't imagine it being different anywhere else.
A danger is that air might get into the pipes so they need to be purged before turning back on.
Virtually no appliances here have pilot lights any more.
Lots of people turn off the gas, water and electricity when they go away/vacation.
Law gas company rules
California, unless it?s an emergency, per The Gas Company rules, as a licensed contractor or resident, you have to call the gas company before you can turn-off the gas to a house from the meter?
Around here, Baltimore, if they turn off your electricity for any reason, you have to be home when they turn it back on. Apparently someone's house burnt down once, or something.
If the gas man says it was off and you say it was on, they will believe their gas man who, one assumes, has no reason to lie, and you'll have to sue for the money. OTOH the odds he will come by, even in a day, are about 30 to 1 if he reads the meter once a month. Say
25 days, so it's like a 25 dollar bet with 25 to 1 odds or better in your favor.Under the regulations of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), General Order 112-E, only SoCalGas is authorized to operate the gas service shut-off valve
See page 10
Yes, I see where the gas company document says that. However, I pulled up the actual CPUC General Order 112-E, which they use as their basis:
Is it unheard of to put another valve on the house side of the meter? Seems like that would keep everyone happy. I put a valve just before the line enters the house, but that's about 300 yards from the meter. So, I can work on stuff inside, but if the line breaks (again) between the meter and the house, I'd have to go to the gas company owned valve.
This might be a good opportunity to sell a house gas valve installation to clients.
I've seen, and installed, gas valve with a turn handle. No wrench needed.
Good idea.
Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus
Well, the problem w/ that link is that it has a page-and-a-half of addenda/updates listed that are thereby incorporated by reference. So, unless one looks through all of those to find the latest that is applicable one doesn't have the full story. In particular, I see a reference to a Section 192 that isn't there and it seems to bear the brunt of activity.
That said, if certainly seems to be another case of overkill in nanny-stateism. (I forget, is CA one of the "can't pump your own gasoline 'cuz you're too stupid to put the hose back up" states, too?)
--
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.