“This suggests that the utilities aren’t doing a good job tracking leaks,” said Audrey Schulman, president of the Home Energy Efficiency Team, or HEET, a Cambridge nonprofit that analyzed the data. “If they don’t have them on their books, they’re not monitoring them, and if they’re left unmonitored, leaks get worse.”

Utility companies are spending billions of dollars to replace leaky gas pipelines across the state, and repair leaks as quickly as possible, company officials say. The leaks, which are responsible for a significant portion of the state’s greenhouse gases, are often caused by corroding cast-iron pipes or construction accidents.

Read the Globe article.

National Grid employee Lane Guidry connected the chute to the gas pipe./DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF