Baltimore Gas Test - BG&E

[Eric M.]

I have a two unit property in Baltimore City. It was vacant for about 18 months. Electric was "powered up" on the new boxes 6 months ago. Despite billing me a flat fee for the gas hookup for the last 6 months, BGE now tells me that the gas hookup is not active. Fine. I call and they send out a tech to hook it up. Tech arrives, and says that, because of the vacancy, we need a pressure test by a licensed plumber before he can hook it up. Plumber quotes me $1000 for an initial test, with a possibility of 2 to 3 times that depending on result of the test. 

Questions:

1. Anyone ever hear of a REQUIRED pressure test to turn on the gas? I'm not aware of any written policy on this from BGE. 

2. Does the $1,000 quote for the gas test seem reasonable? 

My BS meter is tingling on both of the above points, but rather than pass early judgment, I would love to hear from the experts! 

Much appreciated!

 
 

[Perry Welling]

We had a property in Middle River and just went through the same situation. You need to find a licensed plumber to pull a permit and get the system fixed and inspected. Once you have the inspection it can take a month before BGE will come out to turn the gas on. Get a couple estimates from reputable licensed plumbers. You can also consider reducing the number of gas appliances as at least in Baltimore County we were required to in stall a manifold and have a home run to the manifold from each appliance which is where a lot of the cost comes from. Where possible and practical you might want to use electric instead of gas to save some of the expense.