win in warren

ATMOS ENERGY

BY DANNY BERTOTTI

Recognized as one of the best places to work in Kentucky, Atmos Energy has delivered affordable, efficient, and reliable natural gas to the Bowling Green area for more than 70 years. They have 35,000 customers (and growing) in the Bowling Green area and over 182,000 in Kentucky.

Atmos Energy’s vision is to be the safest provider of natural gas services through business and system modernization, while continuing to invest in safety, innovation, environmental sustainability, and communities. In the last five years, Atmos Energy invested more than $318 million in Kentucky to improve the natural gas infrastructure.

Atmos Energy delivers energy that is affordable and environmentally friendly. Homes that use natural gas for heating, water heating, and cooking can save approximately $500 every year on utility bills, plus reduce their carbon footprint (compared to an all-electric home).

Affordable and reliable natural gas is essential to the economic development and growth of Bowling Green. Atmos Energy invests millions to provide service to new residential and commercial customers, in addition to new industrial facilities. Natural gas and renewable natural gas will continue to play a vital role in helping Kentucky’s industrial customers meet their environmental sustainability goals.

Compassion to give back to Bowling Green and all the communities they serve flows through the heart and soul of Atmos Energy’s 4,700 employees. Whether it is reading to students, working with local food banks, or showing appreciation to hometown heroes, their employees fuel safe and thriving communities every day. Atmos Energy offers these programs to assist their customers and the community. • The Sharing the Warmth program helps qualified families and individuals with energy assistance.

Please contact: Community Action of Southern

KY and Salvation Army.

• The Atmos Cares weatherization program partners with local community agencies to support families that need weatherization in their homes.

The company offers up to $3,000 in home weatherization to Atmos Energy qualified customers. Please contact: Community Action of Southern KY.

• There are energy saving tips and online energy management tools available at www.atmosenergy.com.

Atmos Energy provides natural gas safety information to customers and communities. If you smell gas, act fast! Leave the area immediately, then call 911 and Atmos Energy at 866-322-8667. Before you start a digging project like planting a tree, installing a fence, or building a pool, call 811 at least 3 business days before digging to have utility-owned lines marked. It’s free, and it’s the law.

BOWLING GREEN Municipal utilities

BY SHELLEY LOWE

Bowling Green Municipal Utilities provides high-speed data services, safe and reliable electric service, and award-winning water and wastewater treatment services. Our electric division serves a population of about 50,000 within city limits, and we take pride in maintaining the highest Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3®) status from the American Public Power Association for providing customers with the highest degree of reliable, safe electric service.

After the December tornadoes, over 24,000 of our 31,500 customers were without power. The tornadoes destroyed about 200 distribution poles and 52 transmission poles, resulting in significant damage. Within one day, we were able to get power restored to half those customers. By bringing in mutual aid crews – over 100 additional linemen from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia – BGMU was able to get all customers back online within 12 days, much sooner than first anticipated. Although we are facing material shortages and shipping delays, our goal is to get all damaged streetlights repaired or replaced in 2022.

BGMU treats water from Barren River and pumps it to five elevated water storage tanks. Our plant expansion is on track for completion during summer 2022, increasing plant capacity to 45 million gallons of water per day and ensuring we can meet the demands of our community’s growth. This system includes over 290 miles of mains. BGMU also maintains over 270 miles of sewer mains and can treat 12 million gallons of wastewater per day.

BGMU’s Fiber Optic Division has served the community since 2001 and provides telephone, internet, and point-to-point services for area businesses over an all-fiber network with 24/7 support and an uptime rating greater than 99.99%. We know that in today’s fast-paced world, staying connected is critical. During the aftermath of tornado damage to BGMU Fiber’s infrastructure, both Fiber Division employees and contractors worked closely with customers to get everyone back online as quickly as possible.

Our vision is to be customer-focused in all we do. Customer service employees processed over 59,000 calls and over 7,300 applications during 2021. After the December tornadoes, the department handled increased call volumes and went out of its way to help displaced customers who had questions and concerns about policies and billing. We also help our community by participating in United Way’s Day of Caring each summer, collecting hundreds of gifts for Hope House’s Affordable Christmas program, and sponsoring events at local schools and non-profit organizations. Our employees are proud to live in Warren County and are even prouder to serve here.