I dont work for the gas company, I work for a mechanical contractor
whos major line of business is maintenance and repair of industrial
hvac equipment. We also do some commerical type work as most of the
plants we work in also have office areas with their own hvac related
systems.

I did work for the local utility years ago when utilities actually did
repair work...for the most part now your local gas man sets meters and
hunts leaks...everything repair wise is subbed out to the local
hacks....

I know it is odd for me to sit here and knock the very business I make
my living at but I have watched the residential hvac business over the
last 25 or so years turn into a parts changing or change out the
equipment all together business...technicians being taught how to sell
the customer on new equipment..technicians being told they need to push
at least X amount of dollars worth of parts a month...bonuses given for
parts and equipment sales to customers whether they need it or
not....technicians being paid flat rate.....this all leads to
technicians who become parts changers and salesmen.

Im not saying all hvac companies are like this but quite a few are and
like other repair oriented businesses you just have to be carefull.

As for equipment....anyone in the hvac biz knows thay equipemnt
manufactured years ago far outlasted and is currently outlasting in
some cases anything on the market built today.
Manufacturers are running lean now....they produce an inferior product
to keep up the ever increasing profits demanded by upper management and
stock holders.....I see equipment on a daily basis that is 30 years
old...sometimes older that is still running and has ran good for all
those years with minimal maintenace and repair costs...I also see new
junk on the market that gets torn out and ends up in the landfill after
5 years...its sad but true.