The Missouri Public Service Commission regulates investor-owned electric, steam, natural gas, water and sewer and telephone companies. Its mission is to ensure Missouri consumers have access to safe, reliable and reasonably priced utility service while allowing those utility companies under our jurisdiction an opportunity to earn a reasonable return on their investment. The PSC also regulates manufacturers and retail dealers who sell new and used manufactured homes and modular units. The commission was established in 1913. The PSC is comprised of five commissioners, who are appointed by the governor.
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Natural Gas Safety Can Prevent Injuries
If you smell natural gas, don’t stay inside your home. Leave your home or business. Contact your natural gas provider.
More than 60 million customers in the United States use
natural gas in homes or businesses, according to the American Gas
Association. Natural gas provides about 24 percent of all the energy
that is used across the nation.
Natural gas is a mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons – mainly methane –
formed naturally in the earth, often in areas with petroleum deposits.
Other substances found in natural gas, such as butane, propane,
and ethane, are removed before consumers use the methane gas that we
call natural gas in appliances or equipment.
What to do if you smell a strong, persistent odor:
- Put out all open flames.
- Don't smoke or light any matches.
- Don't touch any electrical light or appliance switches.
- Don't use your phone because it may cause a spark.
- Leave the building and call your utility from somewhere else, away from the gas odor. As you leave, open doors and windows if you can do so quickly and easily. Because natural gas is lighter than air, it rises and will dissipate rapidly, where it can escape into the open air.
- Stay away from your building until you've been told that it is safe to return.
Look For The Blue Flame
If pilot lights and burners have a steady, blue flame, they are operating correctly. (Decorative gas fire logs are the only exception; that flame is usually yellow.)
Did You Know?
In its native state, natural gas is odorless, colorless and tasteless. A chemical is added to natural gas that contains sulfur, which makes it smell. Many people describe the odor as similar to rotten eggs.