Gas emergency guidance
Gas meter problem — leaks, damage, no supply or a beeping meter
Gas meters and the pipework up to and including the emergency control valve are legally owned by the gas transporter (Cadent in most of North West England), not you. Any smell of gas, visible damage or moisture at the meter is a 999-style emergency call. Prepayment or credit-meter faults are handled by your supplier, not by an engineer.
Do this right now
If you smell gas at the meter or see visible damage to the pipe, do not investigate — leave the property, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. The meter itself is the responsibility of your gas transporter, not a plumber.
- 1
If you smell gas at the meter — leave the property
Do not stop to investigate. Get everyone outside, prop the front door open, and call 0800 111 999 from outside.
- 2
If safe, turn the gas off at the emergency control valve
The ECV is the handle on the pipe next to the meter. Turn it a quarter turn so it sits at 90° to the pipe. If the meter is in a cellar or the smell is strong there, skip this and leave the property.
- 3
For visible damage (car hit the box, corroded pipe, water ingress)
Call 0800 111 999 even if you don't smell gas. Damage to the incoming main or meter box is treated as an emergency because the seal can fail without warning.
- 4
For prepayment 'no gas' or a credit-meter fault
This is a supplier issue, not an emergency. Call the number on your latest gas bill (British Gas, Octopus, EDF, EON etc.) — they handle top-ups, faulty meters, credit issues and replacement.
- 5
For a beeping meter with no gas smell
Smart meters beep for low battery, prepayment low-credit warnings, or comms faults. Note the message on the screen and contact your supplier — do not open the meter.
Do NOT do these
- Do not open the meter housing or touch the sealed regulator — tampering is a criminal offence.
- Do not attempt to move the meter yourself, even a small distance — only the gas transporter can relocate it.
- Do not fit or repair pipework upstream of the ECV — it isn't yours.
- Do not use plumbing tools on the emergency control valve.
- Do not paint over the meter or seal it into a stud wall without a valid meter cupboard.
- Do not ignore a smell at the meter because 'the meter is Cadent's problem' — call 0800 111 999 first.
Once the property is made safe
After the National Gas Emergency Service has attended and issued their paperwork, a Gas Safe registered engineer needs to make the follow-up repair before the gas can be turned back on. Only book us after the immediate emergency has been handled.
- Once the transporter has made the meter safe, any repairs downstream of the ECV (inside your property) are Gas Safe work and can be booked with us.
- Common follow-up jobs: re-commissioning appliances after supply was capped, replacing a corroded internal pipe, or updating an old lead or steel connection to modern copper.
- If the meter needs relocating (kitchen refit, extension, EV charger install), the transporter arranges the move — we coordinate the internal pipework changes to match.
- For landlords: keep the transporter paperwork and any warning notices, and book a Gas Safe engineer to complete any repair before letting the property back out.
KJ Plumbers promise: £50 fixed diagnostic, transparent written quote before any work, and if we can't fix the fault we diagnosed the £50 is refunded. All gas work carried out only by Gas Safe registered engineers — ask for the card on arrival.