Gas

Attention Gas Customers

The City would like to remind gas customers that the gas service from the City’s gas meter to your house or business place is your responsibility, not the City’s. We would also like to advise our gas customers of the following:

  • Gas customers should maintain their buried gas piping since the piping may be subject to potential hazards of corrosion and leakage.
  • Gas customers should periodically inspect the buried piping for leaks and for corrosion if the piping is metallic. Also, repairs should be made if an unsafe condition is discovered.
  • When excavating near buried gas piping, customers should have the piping located in advance and excavation should be done by hand.
  • Gas customer should get the City’s gas department, plumbers, and/or heating contractors to assist in locating, inspecting, and repairing their buried gas piping.

EXCESS FLOW VALVE CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION

Excess flow valve customer notification. In accordance with recent Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the City of Lytle is required to notify all natural gas customers (new or existing), about excess flow valve (E.F.V.) requirements. Effective April 14th, 2017, PHMSA expanded the use of E.F.V. installation requirements to new or replaced gas service lines to single family residence, multi-family residence, and small commercial customers with natural gas volumes not exceeding 1,000 S.C.F.H. (standard cubic feet per hour).

SAFETY BENEFITS OF AN E.F.V.-E.F.V.’s are a mechanical shut-off device. They are designed to shut off the flow of natural gas automatically if the service line is cut, torn apart or broken, for example, by an excavation accident. Stopping the flow of gas from a broken service line significantly reduces the risk of a natural gas explosion, personal injury and/or property damage.

WHAT WON’T AN E.F.V. DO?-E.F.V.’s are not designed to close if a leak occurs beyond the gas meter (on house piping or appliances). E.F.V.’s also may not close if the leak on the service line is small.

POSSIBILITY OF CLOSURE IF THE CUSTOMER ADDS LOAD- If you add additional gas appliances, for example, a pool heater, emergency generator, etc. the additional gas flow may cause the E.F.V. to close.

Customers may request the City of Lytle to install an E.F.V. on the gas service line to their property. You will be billed for the cost of an E.F.V. installed in your new, replaced or existing gas service line. The cost of the installation will be based on a case by case basis, and could cost anywhere from $2,000.00 to $5,000.00, depending on the difficulty of installation. We will inform you of the actual cost before you make the final decision.

MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT-If it becomes necessary to maintain or replace the E.F.V. on your service line, you will be billed for cost of replacing the E.F.V. Replacing an E.F.V. can cost from $2,000.00 to $5,000.00, but the actual replacement cost will depend on the difficulty of replacement.

E.F.V.’s can not be installed on your service line if: 

  1. The service line operates less than 10 p.s.I. throughout the year.
  2. The E.F.V. could interfere with proper operation or cause loss of service.
  3. An E.F.V. could interfere with necessary operation or maintenance, activities.
  4. The capacity of the meter on the service line exceeds 3,000 cubic feet per hour.

If you request an E.F.V., we will inform you if your service line meets any of these conditions.

Gas Leaks

Here are some common indications of a gas leak:

  • Gas odor
  • Changes in vegetation
  • Insect migration
  • A hissing noise
  • Unaccounted for gas

If you suspect a gas leak, please notify the City Office, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, at (830) 709-3692, or after hours and on weekends at (210) 251-8578 (please leave a detailed message).

Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the Gas Department to do the following:

  • Add odorant to gas system
  • Read gas meters on city’s system
  • Install new services
  • Locate gas mains and service lines for underground utility contractors
  • Maintain and repair all of city’s gas system

Resources