We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are here to help customers through temporary or extended financial hardship. We are suspending service disconnections and waiving new late payment fees through at least May 1. We will be working with customers on a case-by-case basis to establish payment arrangements and identify energy assistance options. We have programs to help. Learn more here.
Delmarva Power manages more than 3,460 miles of natural gas lines to deliver safe and reliable service for 132,000 customers in New Castle County, Delaware. Over the last five years, we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in our system to maintain safe and reliable service and continue to meet growing demand for natural gas. These investments include conducting regular inspections, performing preventive maintenance, modernizing existing natural gas lines as needed and installing new natural gas lines across our service area. We are making excellent progress in the modernization of our system. Each year, we replace more than five miles of natural gas main to enhance safety, durability, and reliability and we have already replaced more than two-thirds of the cast-iron and bare-steel natural gas main on our system.
For larger projects, we work to minimize impacts to the local area and provide advance notice to customers about upcoming work. We also coordinate closely with state and local officials, including water and sewer replacement programs and street rehabilitation and paving programs in the City of Wilmington and other local municipalities. If you have questions about a project in your area, please contact Customer Care at 1-800-375-7117 or e-mail GasEngineering@Delmarva.com.
To enhance and further modernize our natural gas system, we are installing a new natural gas main in New Castle, Delaware. The project will connect two existing underground natural gas lines and is needed to transport natural gas across our system so it can be delivered to customers' homes and businesses. The project will provide much needed additional capacity in our natural gas delivery system, helping meet the energy needs of our customers and growing demand for natural gas in northern Delaware.
The first phase of construction has been completed and the second phase is scheduled to begin in early 2020, weather permitting. The second phase of this project includes a portion along the Industrial Track Trail, between Frenchtown Road and Boulden Boulevard. Local residents will have limited access to the Industrial Track Trail within the project area at various times this winter. In addition, some lane restrictions or modifications may occur on nearby roads while work is underway. As part the project's second phase, we will restore all areas affected by construction, including repaving the Industrial Track Trail.
To meet growing demand for natural gas, we are proposing to build a natural gas storage tank facility in New Castle County. The facility will provide a reliable supply of natural gas for our 134,000 customers in New Castle County during peak winter demand – on the coldest days of the year - and help maintain affordable service. Demand for natural gas continues to grow and, in 2018, customer demand set a record in our service area. The proposed facility will help meet this demand and is expected to save customers more than $124 million over 30 years by reducing the cost of supplying natural gas on the coldest days of the year. All our customers who receive natural gas through Delmarva Power’s delivery system will benefit from the reliability enhancements and savings resulting from this project.
