Our History

The Berkshire Gas Company (formerly The Pittsfield Coal Gas Company) has served the energy needs of western Massachusetts for more than 165 years.

Founded in 1853 by Thomas F. Plunkett, George S. Willis and Henry Colt, The Pittsfield Coal Gas Company’s original gas plant produced gas for New England’s growing communities’ street lights and homes. A century later in 1951, The Pittsfield Coal Gas Company became the first distributor of pipeline natural gas in the region.

With the acquisition of the Berkshire Gas Company in 1954, the Pittsfield Coal Gas Company adopted The Berkshire Gas Company as its new corporate name. The area served by the Company was further enlarged by the acquisition of the Greenfield Gas Light Company in 1958.

During the late 1980s Berkshire Gas experienced some of its strongest growth, undertaking record-breaking expansion and construction efforts to meet new demands. Berkshire Gas currently provides natural gas service to more than 40,000 customers. With a distribution system comprising more than 750 miles of natural gas mains, Berkshire Gas uses state-of-the-art equipment to assure reliable uninterrupted service to its residential, commercial and industrial customers.

In November of 2010, Berkshire Gas was acquired by UIL Holdings of New Haven, CT.  Five years later in 2015, UIL Holdings merged with the U.S. holdings of Iberdrola, S.A. to form AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a diversified energy and utility company with two primary lines of business in 27 states.

Berkshire Gas is proud to be part of the AVANGRID family of companies and shares its commitment to providing clean energy and reliable delivery to customers through innovative technology and sound investment in infrastructure.