Yankee Gas to Run Natural Gas Line on West Ave.

Update, 6:28 p.m.:

A Yankee Gas spokeswoman earlier this afternoon had no immediate information on the planned line. She expected information to be forthcoming later.

Original article, 5:24 p.m.:

If you live near West Avenue or Edgerton Street (see attached map) and were about to replace your heating oil furnace, try to hold off a little longer—Yankee Gas is planning on running a natural gas line east from Stamford, according to Darien officials.

Natural gas nowadays is less expensive than heating oil. officials are pleased with the idea of a West Avenue line because they're hoping to save money on heating bills at nearby —and maybe even .

The line would run eastward at least as far as the soon-to-be-rebuilt at the intersection of West and Noroton avenues, schools Finance Director Richard Huot said at a Board of Education committee meeting Friday morning.

A Yankee Gas representative emailed Darien school district officials last week to tell them about the upcoming pipeline, said Huot, who later met with utility officials about the project.

"I said, 'In how many years do you think it will be there?'" Huot recounted. "Their reply was, 'We're not talking years—we're talking months."

Education officials weren't certain whether or not the new line would provide enough pressure for the Holmes School, blocks to the north of West Avenue, to start using natural gas for its heating system. At present, only enough natural gas is available for the school to use it for non-heating systems, such as kitchen stoves.

At Middlesex, district officials have been actively considering replacement of the burner unit that provides heat to the school. The unit is made by a company that recently went out of business, and replacement parts are hard to find.

Instead of a new heating oil burner for Middlesex, the town may get a dual-use burner that would run on either natural gas or heating oil, said Michael Lynch, the school district's director of operations and maintenance.

Natural gas can cut heating bills for a building almost in half, he said.