MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Hope Gas has announced plans to purchase Consumers Gas Utility, pending approval from the state Public Service Commission.
Consumers Gas serves about 8,500 customers in Cabell, Jackson, Putnam, Ritchie, Roane and Wayne counties.Hope Gas President and CEO Morgan O’Brien said this acquisition now puts Hope Gas in 38 of the state’s 55 counties. Like the previous five acquisitions, Hope Gas will file plans with the PSC to begin repairs and improvements to the Consumer Gas Utility system.
“Having a more concentrated footprint as we add each of these utilities, our people can be more efficient, we can provide better service, and we can provide higher quality service to these utilities,” O’Brien told MetroNews Wednesday.
In the two years since Hope Gas was acquired from Dominion Energy, investors have poured more than $1 billion into the state. The result has been an increase in Hope Gas employment from 300 to about 500 internally, and another up to 500 are working for contractors doing work to repair and improve the distribution system.
“And we see a lot more opportunities to continue to invest here and help the state move forward,” O’Brien said. “Every time you talk to me, when we spend a dollar, we’ll talk about how many jobs that creates.”
O’Brien said most of the people repairing and replacing the lines are West Virginians and members of the organized skilled trades.
“It’s not just 400 to 500 jobs in West Virginia to replace all these pipes we have, including the acquisitions,” O’Brien said. “It’s the fact that those people doing that work are living in West Virginia and being paid a family-sustaining wage and benefit package.”
Hope Gas will celebrate two years of operations in September on Chestnut Ridge Road in Morgantown. Hope Gas now occupies a portion of the former location of Mylan Pharmaceuticals and has added a state-of-the-art gas control center that improves safety and reliability. The system allows constant monitoring and the ability to make adjustments to the system in times of severe weather or emergencies. The company has also added a call center to serve customers that employs at least 100 local residents.
“Before it actually gets to a critical point, they can send crews out to address it, or they can control a lot of the system electronically from here in Morgantown,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien said adding customers and upgrading systems and technology to increase reliability and safety is the priority as they continue to grow across the state. As the customer continues to grow O’Brien said customers can expect gas to decrease.
“All these really important tools make our service more valuable, and then as we add customers, our product remains affordable for the average person,” O’Brien said.