Gas Line Connection Cost in 2026: Free Footage, Per-Foot Rates and Meter Set

At many gas utilities, the meter and a short service line cost the homeowner between $0 and about $900. Longer services are billed per foot beyond the free allowance, at published rates from $1.40 to $15.53 per foot. Our national estimate puts the typical rate at $8.40 per foot. Under four published tariffs, a 150-ft residential service costs from $0 (NorthWestern Energy, primary-heat customers) to $1,034.50 (Xcel Energy Colorado, 2022 rates). A 300-ft service costs from $1,180 (Rockwood, Tennessee) to $2,290 (Xcel). The contractor-installed house piping from the meter to your furnace, water heater and range is a separate bill, and it is often the larger one.

The four pieces of a gas hookup

• Gas main. The distribution pipe in the street or easement. If there is no main along your frontage, you need a main extension, which is a separate and larger project (see utility extension cost).
• Service line. The pipe from the main to the meter, usually polyethylene (PE). The utility installs it and owns it. This is where free footage and per-foot charges apply.
• Meter set. Meter, regulator and riser on the side of the house. Many utilities include it in the service charge.
• Customer piping. Everything downstream of the meter: yard line to a detached building, house piping, appliance connections, and the plumbing or mechanical permit. You hire a licensed contractor for this. It is not covered by any utility allowance or by the benchmarks on this page.

Free footage and base charges by utility

Gas utilities publish how much service line they install before charging. How they measure it varies. Nicor counts from the property line, while others count the whole service length, so read the definition before comparing.

Published allowances and base charges for residential gas service, from utility tariffs (dates as printed).

Xcel’s figure shows how an allowance works in practice. The utility prices the standard service at $999, then applies a $383 construction allowance. Some utilities express the allowance in feet, others in dollars. Either way, the credit is the utility’s investment, and you pay the rest.

Per-foot rates beyond the allowance

Charges for residential service pipe beyond the free or base footage.

For planning where you don’t have a tariff yet, our national estimate for service pipe beyond the allowance is $1.40 (low), $8.40 (typical) and $15.50 (high) per foot. For the meter and a short service, it is $0, $616 and $900. Note that the 1-inch rate at Nicor is about 36% higher than the 1/2-inch rate on the first tier ($10.11 vs. $7.44). The pipe size the utility picks depends on your connected load, so list every gas appliance on the application, including a standby generator or tankless water heater.

Worked examples: 60, 150 and 300 feet

These use each tariff’s published rates on a hypothetical residential service. Footage means the length the utility bills under its own definition.

Service-line charge only. Excludes house piping, permits and any main extension.

Two things stand out. Rockwood’s base charge is the highest, but its per-foot rate is the lowest, so it becomes one of the cheapest options on long runs. Xcel’s rate is the highest per foot here, so distance matters most in its territory. Before you pick a house site on a large lot, work out the service length from the main for each candidate location. Moving the house 150 ft closer to the road saves 150 × $8.37 = $1,255.50 at Xcel’s rate.

What the utility charge does not include

• House piping. The pipe from the meter to each appliance, pressure testing, and the permit. Your mechanical or plumbing contractor quotes this. We don’t publish a national figure for it because we have not found a reliable source.
• Trenching you are asked to provide. Some utilities install the pipe but want the owner’s trench open and inspected. Trench cost in normal soil has a national estimate of $4 to $15 per foot, and more in rock. See the trenching guide.
• Pavement and road crossings. If the main is on the far side of the street, a bore or street cut can add more than the service line itself.
• Main extension. If no main reaches your frontage, utilities often run an economic test. It compares the expected revenue with the construction cost and asks you to pay the difference. There is no reliable national per-foot figure for gas mains, so ask for a written estimate.

Sharing a trench with electric service

New subdivisions often put gas and electric in one joint trench, and a single-home site can sometimes do the same. That can save you a trench. At the national estimate of $8 per foot for trenching in normal soil, a 150-ft second trench would cost about $1,200. Each utility sets its own depth and separation rules for joint trenches, and some won’t share with a private contractor’s line. Ask both utilities before you dig, and schedule their installs so the trench is open only once.

Is a gas connection worth it?

The math is simple: the connection cost (service charge + house piping + any appliance premium) against what you expect to save on energy each year, compared with an all-electric design. If your lot sits inside a utility’s free footage, the utility side may cost nothing, and the decision comes down to house piping and appliance choice. On a long rural driveway with no main, a main extension can cost more than the whole electric service. In that case, many owners choose propane or all-electric instead. Compare it against the cost to run power to the property for the same site.

Steps to get a quote

1. Confirm a gas main runs along your frontage. The utility’s new-service desk can check by address.
2. Apply with a site plan, meter location and a list of appliances with BTU ratings.
3. Ask for the allowance in writing: free feet or dollar credit, how footage is measured, and the rate beyond it.
4. Get a separate quote from a licensed contractor for house piping and permits.
5. Add both to the utility connection cost calculator with your water, sewer and electric costs.

Related guides

• Cost to run power to property
• Utility extension cost
• Utility trenching cost per foot
• Cost to bring utilities to land
• New construction utility costs
• Colorado utility connection costs

Frequently asked questions