SACO — Beginning this spring, residents and commercial interests along Route 1 and Industrial Park Road will be able to hook into the natural gas pipeline and pay connection fees over time.

The expansion of Unitil’s gas pipeline into parts of Saco is significant, according to City Administrator Kevin Sutherland.

“It’s a game changer,” said Sutherland Tuesday. While some areas of Saco already have access to natural gas, Sutherland said the new program will extend connectivity to parts of downtown and along the Industrial Park Road. Sutherland said the expansion adds to Saco is repertoire of plusses that the city can offer to attract new business.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission approved the program, called a Targeted Area Buildout, earlier this year.

Unitil spokesman Alec O’Meara said the program is being viewed as a pilot by the New Hampshire-based company and other areas might also be considered.

About 1,000 residential and commercial customers will be able to take advantage of the service, he said.

“The line goes through Saco already,” O’Meara said by telephone Tuesday afternoon. “This taps into existing lines. It is a significant expansion.”

In general germs, Unitil’s natural gas pipeline follows the I-95 corridor entering Maine at Eliot and moving to York and up the coast to Biddeford, Saco, Portland and then on to Lewiston and Auburn.

Until now, those who wanted to connect to the natural gas pipeline had to pay costs associated with bringing the pipeline to the house or business beyond the first 100 feet upfront, said O’Meara.

He estimated that the connection surcharge on a gas bill for the average residential consumer to be around $7 or $8 a month or $95 annually. Connection costs vary from household to household, depending on the situation of the home, the required length of the connection and other factors, said O’Meara. He estimated connection to the door for a residential consumer could be $1,000 or more.

O’Meara said the homeowner remains responsible for costs associated with converting their current heating system to natural gas.

He could not estimate the cost to commercial businesses.

And even with historically low heating oil prices, O’Meara said natural gas including the $7 to $8 month surcharge, would still remain about 7 percent less costly than oil.

Saco municipal officials have been pursuing a natural gas expansion for some time.

“Saco is a growing community,” said O’Meara. He said the company felt the city seemed like the right community in which to offer the Targeted Area Buildout.

“By removing the upfront cost to customers for this buildout, our hope is to lower the barrier for conversion and give more customers in Saco the opportunity to switch to a cleaner, cheaper heating option,” Todd Black, Unitil senior vice president of External Affairs and Customer Relations, said in a statement.

Company officials said the buildout could begin as early as this spring.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].