Serene Hills slated for first Texas Gas Service neighborhood

In an area historically serviced by propane or electric providers, some Lakeway residents may soon have a third option for utilities.

On March 17, Lakeway City Council voted unanimously to give Texas Gas Service a franchise and the right to conduct business within the city limits.

"I would like Texas Gas Service to provide as much service in the city as they can," City Manager Steve Jones said. "I think natural gas is a better deal for our residents than propane is."

However, the agreement does not include the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, he said. Natural gas service will likely only cover the Serene Hills subdivision because the location is economically feasible for natural gas service, he said.

When completed, Serene Hills will include approximately 304 single-family homes in addition to commercial sites, Serene Hills developer Hunter Douglas said.

"Having natural gas is a huge positive over propane," Douglas said. "Natural gas provides direct service to the house, and you don't ever run out of gas."

Douglas said he and his business partner purchased the Serene Hills tract in 2007 and installed lines for natural gas during the first phase of the development in 2008. TGS provided temporary natural gas tanks in the subdivision when the model homes were completed in 2013 and continued until the Hwy. 71 gas lines were finished Feb. 1, he said.

TGS serves 230,000 customers in the Travis County area, Manager of Regulatory Affairs Larry Graham said. He said the company was granted a franchise in Bee Cave last summer and built the Hwy. 71 pipeline to extend service to new growth areas in southwestern Travis County.

Two additional Lakeway neighborhoods—The Highlands and Flint Rock Falls—may have access to the natural gas service, but neighborhood contracts with propane gas providers are already in place, Jones said.

"The problem with [The Highlands and Flint Rock Falls] is the propane systems are privately owned, and I don't think the people [who] own them are motivated to sell," Jones said. "Since there's probably a higher profit margin in propane than in natural gas, that's going to be a tough purchase."

If TGS was able to buy the community propane systems, additional obstacles may still stand in the way before residents can access natural gas, Graham said. He said that with a propane system, a pipe runs from the home to a community tank.

"We have to ensure that the existing [propane] pipes can be used for natural gas, and [household] appliances must be converted or exchanged to meet natural gas fittings [at the customer's expense]," Graham said.

Graham said he received requests from other area neighborhoods wanting to convert their systems—propane, electric or both—to natural gas.

"We're going to capture the new growth [communities] first," Graham said. "Then, if we're able to, we'll evaluate the existing subdivisions one by one for possible conversion.

"Converting from propane to natural gas is challenging. We'd like to help, but it's not as easy as people think it might be."