On a cold December morning, an Eversource customer who lives in New London thanked meter service mechanic Roberto Garcia for responding quickly to a
possible gas leak at his home. While Garcia swiftly ensured that the building was safe, simple calls aren’t always the case when it comes to working with natural gas.
“I’ve been with Eversource for two years now, and while many of the calls are routine, I’ve already responded to several emergencies,” said Garcia.
Garcia, who’s also a resident of New London, is based out of Eversource’s Waterford Area Work Center. He specializes in installing, maintaining and repairing meters that measure natural gas usage for homes and businesses. Sometimes, that work also includes helping to ensure public safety on emergency calls.
“I was actually one of the first people to respond to the church collapse in New London earlier this year,” Garcia said. “Once we were on scene, we discovered that the collapse was not gas related, but we still took safety precautions.”
When there’s an emergency call, crews make every effort to respond as quickly as possible. They don’t have emergency lights or sirens but still consider themselves first responders, and over the years, they’ve had a nearly perfect record meeting emergency gas response times.
“Once we determined that gas wasn’t the cause of the collapse, we isolated our lines and equipment, and then we worked with the fire department to see how else we could support their response,” said Garcia.
Garcia, who formerly worked as an HVAC technician and for years before that as a casino supervisor, never imagined a career in the utility industry – until he crossed paths with an Eversource crew on the job.
“The switch to Eversource worked out really well because you need to have a state HVAC or plumbing license with gas experience in order to work in meter service,” said Garcia. “All around, it was definitely a great move for me.”
With experience in physically intensive jobs, Garcia knows how important safety is in his work as a meter service mechanic.
“Gas repairs are very hands-on and very reliant on the workers,” explained Garcia. “Restoring natural gas service is a multi-step process that often requires access to a customer’s home and lots of time and effort. Sometimes, one call can last an entire day. You always have to watch what you’re doing and be aware of your surroundings – both for yourself and for the customers.”
To ensure safe, reliable natural gas service for customers – attentive, highly skilled workers are just one piece of the puzzle. Garcia shared how he and his team also work on capital improvement projects to address aging infrastructure and support the resiliency of the natural gas distribution system.
“We’ve been coordinating with local public works departments to upgrade cast-iron pipes to plastic, and in certain cases those projects include installing new equipment like meters too. These investments make the system safer for everyone because plastic doesn’t wear out like metal does. Cast-iron is prone to rust and cracking, especially during the winter with the colder temperatures and increased demand on the system. So, this work is extremely important for our customers because we’re improving public safety and the reliability of the system.”
Garcia, a native of the Dominican Republic, is proud of his work at Eversource and is grateful that it’s allowed him to stay close to his loved ones in Connecticut.
“I moved to New London when I was 8 years old and I have a lot of family here, so working close to home was a huge appeal for me. My nephew has talked to me about careers he might be interested in, and I always tell him to consider working at a utility. I told him that if you can get into Eversource and do what I’m doing, that’s your best bet.”
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