Atmos Energy’s Louisiana division is driving change by focusing on safety, service, and sustainability across the state 

Delivering reliable, affordable, efficient, and abundant natural gas to more than three million distribution customers, Atmos Energy is a natural gas-only distributor across eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. In three of these states – Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi – Atmos Energy is the largest natural gas distributor, working with state and federal regulators to operate a safe and reliable system. 

As part of its vision to be the safest provider of natural gas services, Atmos Energy is modernizing both the business itself and its pipeline infrastructure to promote safety, innovation, and environmental sustainability within the communities in which it operates. Atmos Energy manages several proprietary pipeline and storage assets, including one of the largest intrastate natural gas pipeline systems in Texas. 

The company’s Louisiana division delivers natural gas to around 378,000 customers in 270 communities, including the cities of Lafayette and Monroe, as well as communities outside New Orleans like Metairie and the North shore of Lake Pontchartrain. From 2019 to 2024, in Louisiana alone, Atmos Energy invested $866 million to enhance safety and reliability, reduce methane emissions, and support growth and economic development. 

Considering the State of Louisiana is prone to natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding, and severe storms, Atmos Energy constantly works to minimize the impact of these events and get service restored as quickly and safely as possible. “All year round, from gas supply to the delivery of natural gas at the meter, Atmos Energy is preparing for severe weather,” opens Oric Walker, Louisiana Division President. “When the forecast predicts the arrival of extreme weather, we closely monitor the situation and stage qualified, well-trained employees across our systems. We communicate regularly with customers and communities before, during, and after these events on social media and via our account center. We also have the flexibility to call in additional resources and technicians from the company’s eight-state network to help restore service if required.” 

Severe weather isn’t the only challenge facing Oric and the Louisiana division. As federal funding supports the installation of broadband fiber across the state, the company has experienced higher third-party damage across its network in recent years. “With increasing public infrastructure projects and expanding economic development, damage to our pipelines from excavation remains a primary safety risk,” Oric confirms. “We promote safe digging practices by encouraging customers, contractors, and utility operators to call 811 before excavation, as opening this ticket prompts utility members to locate and mark their facilities at a work site. 

“Our robust multi-channel safety awareness strategy includes proactive public awareness campaigns, community events, media, and continued relationships with regulators, city leaders, and first responders. Additionally, we communicate natural gas safety information to our customers and the public through bill inserts, on-hold messaging, signage, and customer emails. 

“Also, the Atmos Energy Damage Prevention Ambassador program empowers employees to actively monitor our system and make stops at excavation sites to educate the public and promote safe digging practices, including contacting 811,” he explains. “If our ambassadors find invalid or expired 811 tickets or if the excavation plan includes the use of mechanized equipment within the utility tolerance zone without first exposing the utilities, they ask the excavator to stop digging immediately. In these cases, digging cannot resume until utilities have marked their lines as required under state law. In 2024, for example, our Louisiana ambassadors performed over 5,500 stops and distributed over 2,600 pieces of damage prevention literature to excavators and homeowners. 

“As the number of locate tickets across our service territories has remained steady due to strong economic development and population growth, our damage awareness efforts have resulted in a decrease in the number of damages caused by third parties per locate ticket. Since 2018, our damage per thousand locate ticket rate has declined enterprise-wide from 2.68 to 2.43 in 2024.” 

Positively contributing to the communities in which it operates is at the heart of the company’s operations. Atmos Energy’s ‘Fueling Safe and Thriving Communities’ initiatives further exemplify this commitment by focusing on supporting community members in three ways: fueling bright minds and healthy futures for kids, fueling honor and thanks for community heroes, and fueling hope and growth for neighbors. 

“In 2024, nearly 400 employees from the Louisiana division volunteered around 4600 hours to support community endeavors and nonprofit organizations,” Oric reveals. “Also in 2024, thousands of Louisiana customers received a share of $1.6 million in financial assistance to help pay utility bills, and Atmos Energy donated an additional $1.6 million to dozens of nonprofit organizations across the state. 

“Doing right by the communities where we live and work is part of our DNA at Atmos Energy. We began supporting Mighty Moms in 2024, for example, which is a collective of several mothers who have grown it from a gathering of friends to a thriving organization that operates a food pantry and conducts meal programs to provide families with nutritious food and essential resources. We also conduct natural gas safety workshops for city officials, fire departments, police, and other first responders to provide valuable training for emergency response situations. Last year, the Louisiana division hosted 36 natural gas safety workshops attended by more than 1600 first responders. We strive to make a difference in these communities, whether it’s by supporting students, working with local food banks, or showing appreciation to our heroes.” 

Building on this community engagement, Atmos Energy is supporting sustainability initiatives by collaborating with municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, which are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the US, to transport renewable natural gas (RNG). With methane having a global warming potential more than 25 times greater than carbon dioxide, reducing methane emissions is crucial to achieving near-term benefits that contribute to a wider goal of mitigating global climate change. As RNG is produced from organic waste sources like landfills, farms, and wastewater plants, MSW facilities represent a unique opportunity to capture, convert, and use landfill gas as a renewable energy resource. RNG can then be used similarly to conventional natural gas for heating, electricity generation, and industrial use. 

“The River Birch landfill in Louisiana is a great example of how we are helping companies transport RNG to market,” Oric elaborates. “The 920-acre facility just outside of New Orleans processes MSW emissions into approximately 5600 Mcf of RNG every day. Since 2010, we’ve worked with River Birch on quality specifications, and during non-peak periods, we’re helping to blend pipeline-quality natural gas with RNG from the landfill to then sell the gas to a power generator and local distribution company. Following a recent expansion that connected it to the nearby Jefferson Parish landfill, River Birch is now one of the largest facilities in the country producing pipeline-quality RNG.” 

Landfill gas producers need to work with transmission companies like Atmos Energy to transport RNG to the market. “Across the enterprise, we transported more than 9 Bcf of RNG through our system over the last 12 months,” Oric states. “This is an important solution to responsibly reduce methane emissions, equating to the removal of almost 100,000 passenger vehicles from our roads every year. On top of this, we project an additional 6 Bcf of RNG by 2027.” 

From speaking with Oric, it’s clear that the company’s efforts in Louisiana reflect a broader commitment to deliver safe, sustainable, and community-centered energy solutions. Whether it’s promoting safety awareness or supporting sustainable improvements, Atmos Energy is meeting today’s energy demands while shaping a more resilient future based on cleaner energy. 

“2025 is another year of big investment in Louisiana by Atmos Energy,” Oric states. “By the end of the year, we will have added approximately 3000 new customers while also modernizing over 120 miles of our existing infrastructure. In particular, we are working with Habitat for Humanity to serve the 154 future residents of their Rising Oaks development in Terrytown. 

“Our vision is to be the safest provider of natural gas services,” he concludes. “We are committed to modernizing our system, providing reliable service, and developing our workforce. Our expectation over the next five years is to continue to improve all areas of our operation while maintaining a safety-first mindset and supporting the ongoing development of our employees.”  

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