NorthWestern Energy customers are getting a little something extra in their June bills. The ittle slip of paper they'll find inside the envelope, could one day save their life.

We've likely all heard about incidents where people are killed or injured because of a natural gas explosion. It's scenes like that, folks at NorthWestern Energy are trying to avoid. NorthWestern's Tom Glanzer says, "Anytime you can get folks to be aware of what natural gas smells like and let them know what to do when they actually smell natural gas, it's a good thing."

That's the goal behind the little insert that went out with NorthWestern's June billing statements. Glanzer says, "You know, it's the good old fashioned scratch 'n sniff, something you may have been familiar with when you were a young kid. You scratch it, and it smells like something. Well, these, you scratch and they smell like Mercaptan, which is the actual chemical odorant that is added to natural gas."

The hope is, people will become familiar with the odor, and know that if they smell it, they should call 911 and get out of the area. Glanzer says, "If one little mailing that goes out that gets somebody to smell natural gas can save a life, that's what we're here for." Glanzer says the mailings are also aimed at those new homeowners who might not had to deal with natural gas before because they lived under a landlord or their parent's roof. He says it's important for them, as knew homeowners, to know what to look out for.

Glanzer adds, natural gas is one of the safest and most efficient forms of energy available, but he says it's important that we respect its dangers.

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