Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E) is a municipally owned utility that provides electricity, gas, and telecommunications services to the communities of Holyoke and Southampton in western Massachusetts. The Gas Division operates and maintains distribution systems in these communities to serve about 9,900 customers. After a severe over-pressurization incident that another gas utility in Massachusetts experienced in the Merrimack Valley, HG&E’s Board of Commissioners wanted to ensure that the HG&E gas distribution system had adequate overpressure protection and directed that a third-party consulting firm be hired to conduct the review.
HG&E selected Weston & Sampson to provide the third-party review of the overpressure protection on their low and intermediate pressure distribution systems to ensure code compliance and industry best practices. Our services included:
- Performing capacity calculations for 12 low pressure district regulator stations,
- Six low pressure district relief valve stations,
- Five intermediate pressure district regulator stations.
We also reviewed the existing design and layout of each station and prepared final reports that included our findings and recommendations, along with copies of the capacity calculations and existing information for each station. Our work on this third-party review helped assure both HG&E and state gas regulatory agencies that the system in Holyoke and Southampton is constructed and operating safely and reliably.