Can anyone tell me who to call to get a new gas main and meter installed in my house which has never had one before? On the olden days, I would have rung Southern Gas because I think they were responsible for everything gas in the area, but now, I'm not sure who to call, considering the number of differnt gas suppliers operating.
Thank you
J
Transco springs to mind. Or you could try On-Stream Meter Services on 08456
066 588. They're the people responsible for *CHANGING* Gas meters in the UK, so they should be able to put you right. :)
The physical side of supply is still one company afaik, only the billing has been split about.
Just look up "gas" in the phone book and ring them up.
Now you've got me thinking. I wonder if it is only one company that can do a gas mains installation. If there *is* a choice. It means they may not all charge the same amount. Perhaps someone can confirm whether there is a choice or not.
Thanks
J
Thanks for that. I must first ascertain if there is a choice of mains installers or not...
J
You call the company who you want to buy the gas from. I made the mistake of calling British Gas not realising this would automatically mean that I would be signed up with them.
Al
Unless things have changed since I had mine installed three or so years ago TRANSCO are the only installers. You can book direct with Transco, or any gas supplier of your choice. A very important point though, when I had mine done going direct through Transco was VAT free, however if you go through a third party then you will pay VAT, odd but true. 17.5% of several hundred pounds is not something I willing pay to that robbing Scotsman.
That's a big help - thank you. Would you mind telling me what you paid?
J
That's somewhat unfortuanate. Thanks for the tip. J
Thins may have changed. I just googled the following
" As you say,other Public gas transporters can carry out this work (PGT's) so Transco do not have a monopoly on this situation." (Message dated 2003)
If that's the case, I'm now keen to find out the names of all the PGTs who can give me a quote.
JIn message , Jimmy writes
A year ago TRANSCO were the only supplier. British Gas gave me a quote, but when it was delayed, they told me that they were waiting for a price from Transco.
If a trench needs digging, I got a much cheaper quote by having the trench dug by someone else. Get a quote for both options.
It will depend on the survey of your particular site. If you're unlucky, as we were, the quote could be over £70,000 at which point you shrug and get oil fired CH and bottled gas.
I paid Transco 208 GBP for this about 10 months ago. This was to get gas into the house, which is right up adjacent to the pavement, and gas was already in the road outside. I'm pretty certain that the were the only outfit I was allowed to use. They left a capped off pipe inside the house, I was then free to go to the gas supplier of my choice, and they organised fitting of the meter (which I didn't have to pay for.)
David
That's helpful. My place is in the same situation: right against a pavement where there is already a gas supply coming out of the pavement.
Actually, although I said my place is a "house", it's actually a first floor flat. I just said "house" to avoid complicating the quenstion initially. I'm in a first floor flat. The flat underneath already has a gas supply coming up out of the pavemnt via a vertrical 30mm iron pipe, running up the outside of the building..
I'm now wondering of I can simply get that iron pipe extended up a few more feet to reach my floor, and then get a meter connected to that. Does anyone know if that 30mm iron mains pipe will have sufficient flow to feed two combi boilers (one in my flat and one in the flat below)?
Thanks...
J
Bearing in mind that it's at mains pressure - i.e. *before* your regulator - it shouldn't be a problem.
That sounds very promising - thanks! A corgi-registered plumber I spoke to today who was working on the house accross the road, told me otherwise. He said that TRANSCO would want to give my flat its own supply coming directly from the pipeline under the road. I hope you are right and he is wrong!
The question now is: How to play my cards so that I get my supply off the existing up-pipe that feeds the other flat's meter, and not get stuck with a bill for a separate feed coming from the pipeline under the road. Any advice on that one, anyone?
Maybe I should phone a few gas suppliers until I find one who insists that they can take the feed from the existing 30mm up-pipe?
Cheers, J
I really don't think it's up to you. All work up as far as the meter will be done by Transco; they will tell you how they intend to get gas into the property, and how much you'll have to pay for it! So your choice will be 'take it' or 'leave it'.
David
How about if I personally (one dark night) extend the cast iron up-pipe up to my floor and through the wall, and just ask a gas supplier to come and install a meter?
J
Did you read the thread that says: " ...other Public gas transporters can carry out this work (PGT's) so Transco do not have a monopoly on this situation." (Message dated 2003) ?
J
Well, there is one additional factor which may affect this.
Transco are in the middle of a long-term project to replace *all* the old metal pipe with plastic. The area where I live was done last year. What they do with each individual house is to pull a plastic pipe through *inside* the existing metal pipe - leaving a cross-sectional area which is only about 1/3 of the original. This is not deemed to be a problem with individual properties because the metal pipes were installed in the days of Town Gas. Natural Gas is at a higher pressure and has a higher calorific value, so can be delivered through a smaller pipe. That is not to say that you could feed
*two* properties off a single plastic pipe.Even if the 30mm metal pipe hasn't already been lined with plastic, it may be at some time in the future - and Transco will probably take that into account when deciding what can be connected to the pipe in the short term.
So maybe I need to back-pedal a bit on my previous fairly optimistic answer.
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