Gas service upgrade-who pays

Harrysbank

I have a property which has been deemed by BG bolier service engineer to have 14mbar pressure when two appliances are on (heater + cooker). Ovo who supply me agree to install new meter (u16) but Cadent who own service pipe claim that their tests showing 19mbar pressure (with only one applicance on-the boiler) meets the min they have to provide - and so the cost of upgrading service to support the u16 will be mine. I've asked Ofgem help, Brit Gas to comment but both my gas safety and Citizens Advice contacts agree that surely Cadent must provde gas at the Min pressure (19mbar) WHEN TWO APPLIANCES are on. ie House occupier needs heat when cooking and can't be expected to run one at a time??

Im chasing Ovo, CAB, Ofgem Ombudsman, Cadent and BGas service engineer but getting no where. Anyone able to point to where I might find out the legal requirement on Cadent gas supply pressure?

matelodave

this is all I can find

Gas Transporters (GTs3) operate and plan their network pressures so that they can still operate safely under peak or high demand conditions. ... Allowing for a 1 mbar pressure drop between the meter outlet and the appliance, a minimum 15 mbar outlet pressure is therefore considered sufficient

Harrysbank

this is helpful and i thank you for posting. Cadent now saying if pressure drops (inside) to 14mbar as measured by B Gas service, then i need B Gas service to call Cadent and report and they will attend. it seemss Cadent do not want to pay for serice upgrade unless mad eto. It seems supplier (Ovo) trying to push costs onto Cadent. Meanwhile i am stuck in the middle

MeterMan

Harrysbank, What size house do you live in, what appliances are you running(exactly, makes and models please)

Providing that a working pressure check is within tolerance at the meter then there is no issue for Cadent to answer. If there is more than 1mb loss of working pressure at the appliances then this is down to the internal pipework and the cost would be yours to rectify. The working pressure check can be carried out at the meter or the appliances, most service engineers will do the working pressure at the appliance, unless an issue is spotted which requires the overall WP to be checked.

Currently, I can envisage that you would need a U16 meter as this only provides you with more volume, not more pressure.

In terms of the minimum WP, Last conversation I had with a gas transporter, was above 16mbWP then ok to leave but still an issue which needs fixing. All gas appliances are designed to work at 21+/-2mb, so working at below this can cause problems.