Natural gas service is making its way to parts of Millville, according to representatives from Chesapeake Utilities who gave an update on the company’s progress in constructing pipelines and activating service there at the Tuesday, Feb. 28, town council workshop meeting.
David Detrick of Chesapeake Utilities told the council and residents at the meeting that Beebe Healthcare’s South Coastal Emergency Department and Cancer Center have had natural gas service since 2019, before the facility opened.
Beebe, Detrick said, was the “anchor connection” which, thanks to state funding, allowed Chesapeake to expand into the Millville area.
In 2020, Detrick said, Chesapeake completed an extension of 9 miles of 8-inch pipe from Dagsboro, and in 2021, extended a gas main on Pepper’s Corner Road to the Sycamore Chase and Friendship Creek developments.
Last year, Chesapeake connected the Bay Forest community to its natural gas system. Bay Forest previously had an underground propane delivery system that was operated by Sharp Propane, Chesapeake’s “sister company,” Detrick said.
Chesapeake currently has approximately 100,000 customers on the Delmarva peninsula, Detrick said. Another line coming in from the Selbyville area now provides a “looped system” that improves delivery and “system integrity,” he said.
Using geographic information systems (GIS), Chesapeake is tracking ongoing development in the area, according to Detrick. He added that communities that currently have Sharp propane delivery systems “are on our radar, and we’re working to get to as many of those as we can” for possible conversion to natural gas.
Detrick said that, as recently as 2022, Chesapeake looked into extending natural gas service to Bishop’s Landing and found that it is not currently economically advantageous. He said Chesapeake plans to “take another run at that one this year, so we’re hopeful that that will eventually get converted.”
Chesapeake recently received approval from residents of Bear Trap Dunes in Ocean View to extend service there, Detrick said. Conversion in Bear Trap Dunes should be completed by mid-summer, he said.
In Millville By the Sea, Chesapeake has approval to offer natural gas to sections that have not been built yet, but not in existing areas that have propane service from another company. Currently, Chesapeake is working to extend service to Schooner Village (Village 7) in Millville By the Sea and is preparing to move into Village 2, according to Chesapeake sales representative Kelley Gabbard.
Natural gas service can’t be extended to an area until development has been approved, Detrick said, once studies have been done on costs of such service. The company can’t expect existing customers to pay for as-yet-undeveloped areas, he said.
Mayor Ronald Belinko, who lives in Bishop’s Landing, said Chesapeake made a presentation in his community, adding that, at that time, developer Beazer Homes still maintained control of the development, whereas its homeowners association has since taken over.
Bishop’s Landing currently has propane service from Sharp, Belinko said, and Detrick explained that two years ago, Chesapeake reached an agreement with Sharp regarding conversion of areas that have Sharp propane service.
Chesapeake essentially buys the system from Sharp, Detrick said, and if the community, as a whole, votes in favor of transitioning to natural gas and the economics are favorable for Chesapeake, the conversion can proceed.
Gabbard said the conversion process is lengthy and involved, including about six steps from a community reaching out to Chesapeake through connection to gas mains. Sharp, Detrick said, has been constructing its propane systems to be convertible to natural gas.
Detrick said Chesapeake legally cannot interfere with a community’s existing agreement with a propane company and that residents in each community need to work through those issues with the propane company before Chesapeake can come in.