Atmos Energy 2015 Annual Report Download - page 3

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Atmos Energy’s natural gas transmission and distribution
pipelines span almost 76,000 miles and range in size from
2 inches to 36 inches in diameter. We also have some 3.1
million service lines that carry gas from our mains to our
customers’ premises.
Our pipelines, which were installed over many decades,
are made of various materials. The most common types are
coated steel and polyethylene plastic. However, we also have
pipelines made of cast iron, bare steel and vintage plastic.
Our modernization program along with federal and state
compliance rules and regulations determine the pipeline
assets selected for repair or replacement every year.
Modernizing
and Improving
Our Pipeline
Infrastructure
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Atmos Energy continues to modernize its pipeline infrastructure to
make it even safer and more reliable. During the past five years,
we have invested approximately
$4.0 billion to fortify, replace or
expand our system. We plan to increase our spending on pipeline
modernization by more than 50 percent through fiscal 2020.
During the past five years, the number of miles of pipeline
we have replaced annually has increased by 120 percent.
We expect that our annual replacements will go up another
25 percent to 30 percent during the next five years.
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2010 2015 2020
Miles
Distribution Main Annual Replacement Mileage
12 0 %
25%–30%
A major replacement project in our West Texas Division near
Amarillo involves constructing a new 16-inch coated steel pipeline to retire
an aging bare steel line installed in the 1930s. Engineer Matt McDonald (left)
and Dustin Crosley, Amarillo operations supervisor, test the wall thickness of
the existing pipe before it is tied in with the new line.
Investing in Infrastructure