To the Editor:

One of my dear friends hates to pay his electric bill. He has domestic hot water, a clothes dryer, home heating and the kitchen range all powered by gas.

Whenever I pay my electric bill, I say a little prayer of thanks for clean, safe energy. I do not have gas in the house and will permit it only for one-pound gas bottles used for plumbing repairs. When the job is done, the gas bottle goes into an outside metal building away from the house.

Gas is the only fuel that can convert a house into splinters in less than a second. I support the use of gas for industries such as Bath Iron Works, where there can be a professional engineer keeping watch over the system. I reject the idea of gaseous fuels for domestic uses except for applications like standby generators, where the gas tank is well-removed from the house, as is the generator, and gas never enters the house.

The recent tragedy on Bluff Road in Bath mightily strengthens my view on this. The horrendous damage — including a fatality and others injured — was needless, and motivated by the lower fuel cost of propane. Was it worth it?

Robert C. Meixell
Westport Island