An increasing number of natural gas leaks have been reported in Baltimore and cities across the country over roughly two decades, and responding to them is costly for fire departments and taxpayers, according to a new report.

A 15-year study released this week by PSE Health Energy, a California-based research institute focused on energy policy, calculated the estimated financial burden that gas leaks placed on first responders and emergency resources. The study covered 25 cities, including Baltimore.

Baltimore firefighters responded to 1,076 gas-leak incidents in 2018, costing taxpayers approximately $2.7 million, according to the study.

Nationally, the number of leaks rose 300%, from 71,000 recorded responses the first year to 216,000 reported in the last. In Baltimore, the number of reported uncombusted gas leaks increased from 591 in 2004 to 1,076 in 2018, an 82% increase.

Gas leaks are a health risk and a serious safety issue. When natural gas is released it can lead to asphyxiation, causing unconsciousness or even death. Natural gas is naturally odorless, but a chemical is added to give it a strong smell — like rotten eggs — for leak detection.

If fires or gas explosions happen as a result of a leaky pipe, gas infrastructure, which is often buried underground, can be difficult and costly to access and repair.

Baltimore City firefighters responded to a gas leak in November 2023 after an explosion occurred at a South Baltimore home from a power line that caught fire. In 2020, a more significant explosion at the Baltimore Gas and Electric offices in downtown Baltimore hospitalized 21 construction workers.

A Baltimore City Fire Department spokesperson said they could not immediately confirm the number of gas leaks that emergency workers have responded to this year.

PSE attributes increased calls responding to gas leaks to aged infrastructure, increased awareness of gas leaks and the way cities have changed their policies for which agencies are first responders to gasoline complaints.

BGE, one of the state’s largest utility providers, owns and operates the city’s gas pipelines. BGE services approximately 700,000 natural gas customers across its service area, including Baltimore and its surrounding counties, according to its website. The cost of maintaining the region’s aging system is expected to rise over the next two years, and BGE customers have already seen gas rates triple since 2010, outpacing inflation, according to the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel.

Talon Sachs, a spokesperson for BGE, said aging components of BGE’s natural gas system are currently being upgraded at an “accelerated pace,” as mandated in 2013 by state law.

“This results in safer, more efficient service by removing the oldest and most leak-prone parts of the system — since 2013, pipeline leaks have decreased by 31% as a result of this work,” Sachs said in a statement.

“Once this gas system work is complete, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by more than 210,000 metric tons annually — the equivalent of taking approximately 50,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road,” Sachs added.

Sachs said the Maryland Public Service Commission approved the company’s second multiyear plan and set rates for the 2024-2026 period, confirming a 4.4% annual gas increase for each of the three years.

For the PSE study, researchers combed through gas leak-coded data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Fire Incident Reporting System and from city fire departments. A total of 2.4 million gas leak-coded incidents required responses from fire departments.

During the 15-year period covered in the study, 20 cities — including Baltimore — accounted for 19% of all gas leak incidents across the country. The median cost in those 20 cities to respond to a gas leak was estimated at $2,600 per incident.

“Between 2003 and 2018, the number of reported gas leak emergencies nearly quadrupled,” said PSE healthy energy senior scientist Drew Michanowicz. “These leaks represent a growing and largely hidden cost to society that should be considered when designing future energy systems.”

Responses to gas leaks have continued to increase since the 2018 study period, according to PSE spokesperson Adrienne Underwood.

She said the latest available data shows there were 240,898 gas leak responses nationwide in 2022, which indicates “the upward trend observed since 2018 has persisted.”

The study began in 2020; data after 2018 wasn’t included in the analysis.

The study found all-electric homes could substantially reduce the risk and cost of gas leaks, reduce the burden on Baltimore-area firefighters and enhance public safety.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order in June to push utilities and gas companies to offer more clean tech options to consumers for home heating as part of his climate plan.