| History
of Columbia Gas of Virginia
Columbia
Gas of Virginia, headquarted in Chesterfield County, Va.,
just outside Richmond, provides natural gas service to more
than 212,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers
across the commonwealth.
Columbia
Gas of Virginia is the third largest distributor of natural
gas in Virginia and it has a long history of service in the
state that dates back to 1947. The company represents the
composite of several formerly independent entities, and some
elements of our system date back to pre-Civil War days with
Petersburg Gas Light Co. (1847)
One of
the original companies that now comprise Columbia Gas of Virginia,
the Petersburg and Hopewell Gas Co., began providing manufactured
gas (produced from coal) to customers in the mid-1840s when
its primary use was to provide gas lighting. In 1854, the
Portsmouth Gas Co. was granted a franchise to provide gas
service to residents of Portsmouth. At about the same period,
the Natural Gas Service Co. of Fredericksburg was formed.
Portsmouth
Gas Co. was acquired by Commonwealth Pipeline Corporation
in 1950 – the same year in which pipeline-delivered natural
gas service was introduced in Virginia. Commonwealth Gas Distribution
Corporation was formed in 1955 as a subsidiary of Commonwealth
Gas Pipeline. The distribution company eventually became part
of Columbia Gas.
The pipeline
company’s distribution operations were expanded with acquisitions
of the Fredericksburg Company (1965) and the Petersburg and
Hopewell Gas Company in 1969.
In 1980,
the company became known as Commonwealth Gas Services, Inc.
In 1981,
Commonwealth Gas Services merged with the Columbia Gas System.
Columbia Gas of Virginia, which had been operating in the
western portion of the state since 1931, merged with Commonwealth
Gas in 1989. That same year, Commonwealth acquired the Lynchburg
Gas Co.
On January
20, 1998, the Columbia Gas System became Columbia Energy Group,
and Commonwealth Gas Services, Inc., became Columbia Gas of
Virginia.
Columbia
Energy Group, in turn, merged with NiSource, Inc. on November
1, 2000, making Columbia Gas of Virginia one of 10 energy
distribution companies serving 3.7 million gas and electric
customers primarily in nine states.
Columbia
Gas of Virginia has about 300 employees in Virginia and it
maintains three operations centers in North/West Virginia,
Central Virginia and Hampton Roads. Its executive management
team and support staff are located in Chesterfield County.
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