Not in My Front Yard
Providence Fights Gas Meters in Historic Areas
By Eric Wills | Online Only | Apr. 27, 2009
National Grid's gas meters have angered some residents.
Credit: Jessica Jennings
UPDATE: The Rhode Island House and Senate passed two bills in May that place restrictions on the placement of gas meters.
Ian Barnacle was angry. Make that livid. He'd returned home one evening to his historic Providence, R.I., home, only to discover workers from National Grid, a regional power company, tearing up the sidewalk. Barnacle had just purchased the Federal-style house and had started restoring it, hoping to do his part to preserve the historic character of his Fox Point neighborhood, located near Brown University.
But here was National Grid digging up the sidewalk and, he says, preparing to attach a gas meter to his home. "I was just shocked that they could come to my house to do work without any prior notice," he recalls. He soon learned that the power company was installing new high-pressure gas lines throughout the city, to meet increasing demand. And that the company, as part of the project, had started to install new gas meters on the front of historic houses.
Barnacle, concerned about property values, worried that the meters would mar Fox Point's historic fabric. As he and other residents shared their concerns, they helped ignite a contentious dispute that has alarmed preservationists and reached the floor of Rhode Island's state legislature.
"What's so devastating is that people have worked for 30 years to improve their neighborhoods," says Wendy Nicholas, director of the Boston-based Northeast Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In Broadway-Armory, a historic neighborhood on Providence's west side at the epicenter of the controversy, she says, "it's really been a labor of love, a lot of sweat equity. This isn't a wealthy neighborhood where they were just writing checks. They've been doing the work themselves."
Which is why the installation of ugly gas meters that mar the neighborhood's historic fabric "feels like a slide back, a slap in the face," says Karli Lang, executive director of the West Broadway Neighborhood Association.
The state senate is scheduled to vote in April on a bill that will require permits for new gas meters in historic neighborhoods.
Credit: Jessica Jennings
National Grid argues that moving the meters outside represents a necessary safety precaution, making it easier for officials to turn off service in case of an emergency. Exterior meters also make it easier for the company to comply with federal laws that require inspections for gas leaks every three years. And exterior meters make it more difficult for dishonest consumers to divert and steal gas.
Still, company spokesman David Graves acknowledges, "We did an awful job of communicating with our customers." In an attempt to alleviate tensions, last fall National Grid halted work and has now agreed to give homeowners in historic neighborhoods the option to keep meters in basements when possible, Graves says, or to work collaboratively to find a sympathetic place for the meters outside.
In addition, the city council passed an ordinance last fall that prohibits utility companies from installing meters without homeowners' written permission. National Grid has challenged the ordinance because its wording unnecessarily delays projects, Graves says.
The dispute may ultimately be resolved by sister bills currently on the floor of Rhode Island's house and senate. They would prohibit utility companies from installing gas meters in historic districts without the permission of homeowners and approval from local historic commissions. Last week, a senate committee recommended one bill for passage; the senate may consider it as early as this week.
"We're walking on egg shells right now," says Jessica Jennings, a member of the Broadway-Armory Neighborhood Association, as residents wait to see if the bills will pass. "I'm scared to go to work," she says, concerned that National Grid may install a new gas meter on the front of her home while she's gone.
Jennings has heard from residents in a small Wisconsin town who are struggling with the same issue. And she's been heartened to learn that Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Indianapolis have stipulations about where meters can be placed in historic neighborhoods.
As for Barnacle, he says that National Grid eventually patched his sidewalk and backed off on installing a meter on his home. But elsewhere, he says, the damage has been done: "There are a lot of very old houses in my neighborhood with ugly gas meters sitting in front of them. It's really a shame."
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Eric Wills is associate editor of Preservation.
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Comments
Submitted by hotfoot at: July 11, 2010
I am a meter reader and i agree, that meters shouldn't be placed in front of your beautiful historic buildings, i think they should be on the side where they are not obtrusive yet are still easily accessible.
Submitted by joe at: May 7, 2009
When they came to my house on college hill, I told them to stop. Called Mayor's office and they didn't know about it, didn't care and basically blew me off. I had to speak to National Grid management to make them put the meter on the side of the house instead of in front between two windows. They never fixed the road either and Mayor didn't care about that either. for all the taxes I pay, someone in the City should be monitering things like this. The Mayors office told me they had no liason with National Grid- unbelievable
Submitted by Wilemann at: May 5, 2009
I don't see why meters can't be placed in vented underground vault. The meters could have top reading guages, or be fitted with an RIFD system for reading. There may be some safety issues that may need to be resolved, but they can't be worse than having a meter in an enclosed basement.
Submitted by LoveMyRights at: May 1, 2009
I'm glad to hear from others experiencing this problem (and fighting it) elsewhere in the country. I want to mention to Gumshu below that landscaping is not an option for me whose home has NO setback from the sidewalk as do many other historic urban homes in Rhode Island. No setback means no way to hide these huge gas meters. And, by the way, why should the burden fall on me to hide these things when they don't have to be on the front of my house anyway? It all comes down to consumer protections and allowing citizens to participate in the placement of utility equipment that has a tremendous impact on the use and value of one's own real estate. This issue also has nothing to do with meter reading. Remote meter reading (via radio transmissions) is OLD technology at this point and almost all new meters have the technology included in them. Gas companies nationwide are attempting to get rid of federally mandated leak checks of meters in and outside of homes. Forget about the safety factor, it costs them money and time to check our utility equipment and they want the regulation gone! The national gas lobbyist's organization AGA (American Gas Association) commissioned a study hoping to prove that such gas checks are unnecessary. The study backfired and proved that leak checks provide many ancillary safety benefits for gas customers, as you might imagine. This issue is complicated. The simple way through it is to decide how important it is for any one of us to uphold and protect our rights as citizens and consumers against huge utility companies whose imperative is mainly to decrease their bottom line, sadly and often at our expense. By the way, I don't own a backhoe, but there are other methods I can use to protect my private property!
Submitted by Anonymous at: April 30, 2009
We battled the local power company in Rock Island, IL on this issue, where - virtually overnight - meters were moved to the front downtown buildings, including a local landmark and a National Register property (without notice). Placed right next to entrances, they were UGLY! City Hall and the downtown business association got involved. After two blocks, we got them to stop installation. The power company later agreed to move the offensive ones already placed to unobtrusive locations on the sides or backs of buildings. Costly mistake for the power company. Victory for preservation!
Submitted by Gumshu at: April 30, 2009
Plant shrubs. The bushy kind. Hide those sore eyes sight.
Submitted by Georgi at: April 30, 2009
Put those meters on the side or in the back OUT OF SIGHT! In front makes the neighborhood look cheap and "ghetto-ish" This front business is all for the convience of the meter readers. Take them DOWN!!!!!
Submitted by Randall at: April 27, 2009
"I'm scared to go to work," she says, concerned that National Grid may install a new gas meter on the front of her home while she's gone. " So you call em up on the phone and tell them they have 24 hours to remove it or YOU will do it for them with your backhoe, and see how fast they come out!