Tallahassee's City Natural Gas Utility

Yes, the City of Tallahassee owns and runs a Natural Gas Utility that serves homes and businesses in Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla counties.

The City's July 28, 2023 news release says the utility has served residents and businesses in Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla counties for over 60 years through 975 miles of underground gas mains serving over 35,000 customers. The utility's safety page gives a different length, more than 965 miles of mains serving over 35,000 customers, so the two City figures do not match and neither is dated on the safety page.

Availability still varies by street. The natural gas FAQ points customers to an interactive utilities map and answers a common question plainly: the City does not provide gas only in Leon County, but to customers in the Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla areas. Questions about availability, contractors, appliance efficiency and backup generators go to the City of Tallahassee Natural Gas Utilities at 850-891-5112, and the City of Tallahassee Utilities customer office is at 435 N. Macomb St., 850-891-4968, per the natural gas home page.

The Florida Public Service Commission audits the Tallahassee gas system each year, and the City reported its 14th consecutive violation-free audit in March 2023.

In a March 31, 2023 release, the City said its Natural Gas Utility received a violation-free audit for the 14th consecutive year from the PSC during the annual Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Evaluation, a two-week review in which auditors read the Operation and Maintenance, Emergency Operations, Damage Prevention and Public Awareness plans and ran field evaluations of programs such as Critical Valve Maintenance, Leak Survey and Construction. The same release cited 975 miles of mains serving over 35,000 customers in the Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla areas.

The industry group for public gas systems has scored Tallahassee too. The July 2023 release says the American Public Gas Association gave the City its Gold Level System Operational Achievement Recognition (SOAR) Award with a perfect score, competing with more than 750 public gas systems, the fourth Gold Level award since the program began in 2014. The SOAR award recognizes system integrity, system improvement, employee safety and workforce development. The older wording on the City's safety page calls it the only public utility to earn the Gold award three times in a row and notes a 2019 APGA Public Gas System Achievement Award.

Gas also runs the City's electric side. The 2026 Ten-Year Site Plan says the City has three primarily natural gas fueled generating stations, Purdom in St. Marks, Hopkins on Geddie Road and Substation 12 on Medical Drive.

A Tallahassee home gets gas by checking the availability map, sending the City an inquiry, and having a licensed contractor pipe the house while the City coordinates the street tap.

The City of Tallahassee service page says the first step toward becoming a residential customer is to verify that gas is available in the neighborhood on the availability map, then fill out the inquiry form; a Natural Gas Utility representative will make contact within 48 business hours. The City then works with the customer's plumber to run the service tap from the street and install a meter if needed, and coordinates the tap installation. Builders, developers and business owners use a commercial request form with the same 48-hour reply.

The FAQ defines the tap as the gas pipe extending underground from the main in the street to the meter beside the home. The tap fee is $50, waived with a natural gas water heater, and the service page adds that there is no tap fee with a water heater or furnace. The owner hires a heating or plumbing professional to run black steel pipe from the meter to each appliance, and that contractor requests the City of Tallahassee permit. The street connection takes one to two weeks on average, and the FAQ suggests piping all current and future appliance locations at once to save on service calls.

Gas is the one Tallahassee utility that cannot be switched on remotely. Electric and water service may be turned on without anyone home, but natural gas turn-on and pilot lighting require the customer to be present, booked at 850-891-4968. Meters must stay accessible and clear of landscaping, even behind a fence, so City gas staff can read, test and exchange them, and the FAQ states that the City does not turn off its gas distribution during or after a hurricane.

The City of Tallahassee pays $150 to $700 per gas appliance, plus a $425 Gold Package Bonus that brings a full first-time package to $2,000.

Source: City of Tallahassee natural gas rebates page. The program is open to City natural gas customers in the Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla areas, including new customers connecting where gas is available. The $2,000 Gold Package applies to first-time installation of a water heater, a furnace or combination appliance, and either a range or dryer, all in one job. Range and dryer rebates require a gas water heater or furnace, and a combination appliance that heats both home and water qualifies for the furnace plus water heater rebates of $1,375 only with a complete new system.

The rules are strict. Installations must be permitted and inspected where required by the City of Tallahassee, Leon County, Gadsden County or Wakulla County; paid receipts and contractor invoices must be submitted within 12 months of final inspection; rebates are credited to the homeowner's City utility bill, or paid by check to the homebuilder for appliances installed before the certificate of occupancy; and rebates cannot exceed installed cost or be paid for used or stub-out appliances. Forms go through the utility account Requests tab or to Customer Operations, 435 N. Macomb St. The page notes that rebates are subject to change without notice.

Anyone who smells gas in Tallahassee should leave upwind and call 850-891-4968 or 911 from a safe location, the City's safety page says.

The Tallahassee safety page explains that natural gas is odorless and colorless in its natural state, so a distinctive odor is added to make the smallest leak noticeable, and that it is 40 percent lighter than air and quickly dissipates. Near a suspected leak, people should not operate vehicles, equipment, cell phones or anything that could spark, strike a match, operate lights or try to find the leak; City staff are available 24 hours a day, and a scratch-and-sniff odorant card can be requested at 850-891-5112.

Digging is the classic cause of a broken service line, so the City points residents and contractors to Sunshine 811, whose call center answers weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1-800-432-4770. Under federal rules the City of Tallahassee also installs an excess flow valve on request, a device that sharply reduces flow if the line between main and meter breaks, for homes and small businesses with appliance loads up to 1,000 cubic feet per hour. Because the line must be excavated, the charge is $750, and the utility covers replacement and maintenance afterward.

For storms, the Tallahassee guidance is to leave the meter valve alone. The City asks customers not to turn off the gas meter valve themselves when evacuating; appliances have their own shut-off valves, and customers who shut those off can call 850-891-4968 to have pilots relit afterward.

Tallahassee committed in 2019 to 100 percent clean, renewable energy community-wide by 2050, and its planning models weigh how far homes shift from gas to electric appliances.

The Clean Energy Plan about page says the City Commission passed the Clean Energy Resolution unanimously in 2019, developed with Tally100, the City's Utility Citizens Advisory Committee and the local Sierra Club chapter. It sets two milestones: 100 percent clean, renewable energy in City operations by 2035, including electric City light-duty vehicles and StarMetro fixed-route buses, and 100 percent community-wide by 2050. The same page puts Tallahassee Solar at 62 megawatts, while the City's Tallahassee Solar page gives 60 megawatts.

The Tallahassee Clean Energy Plan roadmap shows how gas enters the math. A consultant's model for the City includes assumptions about the price of natural gas and renewable natural gas (biogas), and its resource portfolios anticipate varying levels of electrification, meaning adoption of electric appliances over natural gas fueled ones. Meanwhile the City's gas rebates remained posted when this page was checked.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, against the City of Tallahassee natural gas home, service, FAQ, safety and rebate pages, its March and July 2023 gas utility releases, the Clean Energy Plan about and roadmap pages, the Tallahassee Solar page and the 2026 Ten-Year Site Plan.