LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen joined other municipal boards in northern Androscoggin County and southern Franklin County to support extension of the natural gas pipeline that stops in Jay.

Livermore Falls selectmen voted unanimously Monday to approve a resolution to let natural gas providers know they are interested in extending a natural gas line to the town. Farmington selectmen approved the resolution Feb. 26.

Jay selectmen are scheduled to consider it at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 11, at the Town Office.

A natural gas pipeline runs from New Hampshire through Rumford and stops at Verso Paper’s Androscoggin Mill on the Riley Road in Jay.

Wilton Town Manager Rhonda Irish also has been attending meetings to discuss a possible extension of the pipeline.

Businesses along the way from Farmington to Livermore Falls are also interested to see if a natural gas company would be willing to service the area, Livermore Falls Town Manager Kristal Flagg said.

Discussions have included putting out requests to certain companies to see if they are interested in serving the area.

By supporting a resolution, selectmen would let companies know they are interested in the possibility, she said.

Flagg read the resolution at Monday’s selectmen’s meeting. It proclaims that natural gas is a clean and safe source of energy, and it is inexpensive and domestically produced, she read.

“The average residential customer in Maine can save about $1,5000 per year on their energy bill by using natural gas rather than oil,” Flagg read.

Bringing natural gas to the area will help reduce the region’s dependence on foreign oil, reduce the carbon footprint, and encourage economic development through lower energy costs, according to the resolution.

At least 2.2 million gallons of heating oil consumed annually in the Farmington and Livermore Falls area could be replaced with cleaner, less expensive natural gas, the resolution claims.

The municipal boards are supporting the extension in order to serve as many commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential customers as is practical and possible, Flagg read.

If companies are interested and town officials believe a proposal is satisfactory for each town, it would have to be voted on by voters in those towns, she said.

There are several risks, including explosions that have been brought up in meetings, she said.

“There is good and bad to everything,” Flagg said.

It will be the intent of the group to find a company that would serve rural areas.

There would be public meetings, discussions and votes before anything is finalized.

Supporting the resolution does not commit the town to anything, she said.

PalletOne Inc., formerly known as Isaacson Lumber Co., on Route 133 in Livermore Falls is interested in a pipeline extension, Flagg said.

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