“We have been working closely with the fire and police departments, and they will be notified when we start the procedure,” said Marc Andrukiewicz, project director, Waterbury LNG Project. “We’ve been vaporizing the liquid propane and have injected as much propane as possible into our distribution system to empty the tanks, but flaring is now necessary to consume the remaining liquid propane before purging the tanks completely later this year.”

The propane tanks have been in service since the 1960s. Yankee Gas sometimes injects propane into its distribution system during periods of peak demand, such as an extremely cold day. The decommissioning of the propane tanks is just another planned step in the construction of the liquefied natural gas facility and one that the Department of Public Utility Control requires that Yankee Gas perform. The facility is expected to be in service for the 2007-2008 heating season, giving Yankee Gas greater flexibility to manage its energy portfolio and reducing the impact of seasonal price fluctuations on customers.

Yankee Gas Services Company (Yankee Gas) is Connecticut’s largest natural gas distribution company, delivering safe, reliable natural gas service to more than 196,000 customers in 71 cities and towns. Yankee Gas is expanding Connecticut’s energy options and increasing customer choice by extending the availability of clean, efficient natural gas throughout the state. Yankee Gas is part of the Northeast Utilities System (NYSE: NU). For more information, please visit www.yankeegas.com.