No breaks for Sandy victims from National Grid

As if those local residents who still have to raise their homes are not facing enough hurdles, now National Grid has reinstituted disconnect and reconnect gas line fees that might leave homeowners with an additional bill for $1400 or more.

Right after Hurricane Sandy, National Grid dropped the cost to disconnect and reconnect to damaged homes. Last June the gas company began charging $700 to disconnect and $700 or more to reconnect gas lines. The company claims it sometimes has to use more gas line and the homeowner will be charged for that.

Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky has taken up the cause, writing a letter to National Grid president Ken Daly, asking him to “revisit your decision to charge Sandy victims this unnecessary fee. The reaction has blown up, almost 5500 people have responded to this by phone, email, and on social media. Grassroots homeowners groups want to join with us,” Kaminsky said. “My district is only a small part of National Grid. Somewhere someone who was not damaged by Sandy is paying his bill, and not facing huge construction costs. I can’t believe this small area would have that great an impact on the company,” he said, “The reason we wrote the letter was simple, people who are raising now are in a worse position [than right after Sandy], they have fought insurance, have been knuckling through. “After all that they don’t have the extra $1500 and in some cases $2500 dollars. We are telling people to add the charges to the 6100 form”

In a press release National Grid responded, “For more than two years after the storm, National Grid voluntarily suspended facilities relocation charges to assist affected customers in rebuilding their homes.  We continue to suspend these charges for Sandy-affected customers who have been unable to return to their homes due to storm damage.  Any customer requiring the relocation of gas facilities should contact National Grid to discuss the work required and any associated charges.  We will review each situation on a case-by-case basis to see how we can help customers.”