Gas Department
About Tuscumbia Gas Department
Tuscumbia Gas Department serves over 3000 firm residential and commercial natural gas customers. Please call 811 to have natural gas lines located before doing any excavation work around your home or business.
Tuscumbia obtains natural gas at its city gate, located on Woodmont Drive, from Symmetry Energy (formerly Alabama Tennessee Gas Company). Symmetry Energy receives natural gas from Texas Eastern, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, and Columbia Gulf. Tuscumbia has firm gas contracts with Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Symmetry Energy, and several gas storage fields, including one in Bear Creek, Louisiana. The Gas Department serves customers mainly within the corporate limits but also supplies gas to some customers in Colbert County.
Natural Gas Safety
IF YOU SMELL GAS: Go to a neighbor's phone and call (256) 383-0321 immediately. Do NOT use any phone or switch inside the suspected area.
The distinctive odor of natural gas is a safety feature to alert you to even the smallest leak. Use your nose!
- Investigate: Follow your nose to the source (extinguished pilot, partially open valve).
- If you cannot locate the source: Call Tuscumbia Utilities at (256) 383-0321 (24/7).
- If the odor is strong: Leave the premises immediately. Don't light matches, smoke, or switch ANYTHING on or off.
- Do NOT open windows or doors to ventilate unless safety is confirmed.
- Go to a nearby phone outside the building and call us. We will dispatch a serviceman immediately.
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Carbon Monoxide is a toxic, odorless gas produced when fuels burn efficiently. Improperly maintained equipment can produce CO, which interferes with the body's ability to process oxygen.
Symptoms of CO poisoning:
- Headaches, Dizziness, Weakness
- Flu-like symptoms, Nausea/Vomiting
- Partial loss of muscle control, Sleepiness
Common sources in the home:
- Blocked chimney opening
- Improperly operating fuel-burning appliances
- Disconnected, corroded, or blocked vent pipes
- Cracked heat exchangers
- Operating vehicles in attached garages
Read Your Gas Meter
The Gas Department encourages customers to read meters regularly. Your bill is based on units of gas (cubic feet) used.
Odometer Style: Simply read the numbers from left to right.
Dial Style:
- Read dials from left to right.
- If the hand is between two numbers, use the lower number.
- If the hand is between 9 and 0, 0 is considered 10, so 9 is the lower number.
- If a hand is directly on a number, check the dial to the right. If that dial hasn't passed 0, use the lower number for the first dial.
Try reading your gas meter daily and subtracting the previous day's reading to monitor usage.