Hi Folks,
Not really a D-I-Y option but we're looking at getting an old property
connected to the gas. There is what appears to be a steel pipe running
into a corner of the property capped off. I can only think it is an old
gas service that was fitted when gas was run along the street but never
connected up.
Would the gas board (Wales and West) ever use an old pipe such as this
or would they insist on running a new plastic line or even running a
smaller plastic line up the inside of an old steel pipe?

Looks like the neighbours possibly have their gas piped up a similar old
steel pipe.

I'm waiting to hear back from Wales&West but thought someone here might
have come across the same situation.
Cheers
Pete@
--
http://www.GymRatZ.co.uk - Home and Commercial Fitness Equipment etc.

On Monday 16 September 2013 13:14 www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Hi Folks,
Not really a D-I-Y option but we're looking at getting an old property
connected to the gas. There is what appears to be a steel pipe running
into a corner of the property capped off. I can only think it is an old
gas service that was fitted when gas was run along the street but never
connected up.
Would the gas board (Wales and West) ever use an old pipe such as this

I very much doubt it :-|

or would they insist on running a new plastic line or even running a
smaller plastic line up the inside of an old steel pipe?

You'll really have to wait for them to reply - noone else will be able to
second guess them.

Looks like the neighbours possibly have their gas piped up a similar old
steel pipe.

I'm waiting to hear back from Wales&West but thought someone here might
have come across the same situation.
Cheers
Pete@
--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

In article ,
www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote:
Not really a D-I-Y option but we're looking at getting an old property
connected to the gas. There is what appears to be a steel pipe running
into a corner of the property capped off. I can only think it is an old
gas service that was fitted when gas was run along the street but never
connected up.
Would the gas board (Wales and West) ever use an old pipe such as this
or would they insist on running a new plastic line or even running a
smaller plastic line up the inside of an old steel pipe?

BG did indeed run a plastic pipe inside the original iron barrel here when
they installed a new main in the street.

--
*Okay, who stopped the payment on my reality check? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Monday, September 16, 2013 1:44:17 PM UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

BG did indeed run a plastic pipe inside the original iron barrel here when

they installed a new main in the street.

Same here earlier this year.

Muddymike wrote:
Hi Folks,
Not really a D-I-Y option but we're looking at getting an old
property connected to the gas. There is what appears to be a steel
pipe running into a corner of the property capped off. I can only
think it is an old gas service that was fitted when gas was run
along the street but never connected up.
Would the gas board (Wales and West) ever use an old pipe such as
this or would they insist on running a new plastic line or even
running a smaller plastic line up the inside of an old steel pipe?

Looks like the neighbours possibly have their gas piped up a similar
old steel pipe.

I'm waiting to hear back from Wales&West but thought someone here
might have come across the same situation.

Don't for one minute think I am recommending this course of action
but I did know a guy some 40 years ago that found a pipe just like
the one you describe in the basement of an old house he had just
bought. A few months later he had full gas central heating and hot
water running off it. He lived there for at least ten years and never
did get a gas meter!

He probably did get a meter, just not one that any gas company knew about -
they are freely available.
I've known a few people do this, a chap I knew had extensive work done on
his house, one of the jobs he did himself while all the suspended floors
were being filled in with mot prior to concreting, was to branch off the gas
main so that he had another meter coming up under his stairs, needless to
say, his CH and HW came from this, while the official meter supplied his gas
hob

Hi Folks,
Not really a D-I-Y option but we're looking at getting an old property
connected to the gas. There is what appears to be a steel pipe running
into a corner of the property capped off. I can only think it is an old
gas service that was fitted when gas was run along the street but never
connected up.
Would the gas board (Wales and West) ever use an old pipe such as this
or would they insist on running a new plastic line or even running a
smaller plastic line up the inside of an old steel pipe?

Looks like the neighbours possibly have their gas piped up a similar old
steel pipe.

I'm waiting to hear back from Wales&West but thought someone here might
have come across the same situation.

Don't for one minute think I am recommending this course of action but I did
know a guy some 40 years ago that found a pipe just like the one you
describe in the basement of an old house he had just bought. A few months
later he had full gas central heating and hot water running off it. He lived
there for at least ten years and never did get a gas meter!

Mike

In article ,
"Phil L" writes:
He probably did get a meter, just not one that any gas company knew about -
they are freely available.
I've known a few people do this, a chap I knew had extensive work done on
his house, one of the jobs he did himself while all the suspended floors
were being filled in with mot prior to concreting, was to branch off the gas
main so that he had another meter coming up under his stairs, needless to
say, his CH and HW came from this, while the official meter supplied his gas
hob

The house next to me was empty when gas privatisation happened (1986?).
It was eventually sold to a plumber who spent a couple of years stripping
it out and refitting it before moving in.

After a few years, he sold it and the next people who moved in eventually
asked me over the fence if I got a gas bill (yes), because they'd never
had one. They were quite worried by this and spent some time trying to
sort it out. I never heard what happened, but they eventually sold the
house.

A retired couple moved in for a few years, and then sold it.

Followed by another retired couple, who were there for ~5 years. After
about a year, I got the same question from them - no gas bills. So I
guess the owners two before never managed to sort it out, although I
know they tried. I presume all the owners since gas privatisation
had never got a gas bill. These folks continued trying to sort it out,
and eventually managed to do so shortly before they sold the house,
a couple of years ago.

So the house had no gas bills for over 20 years.

There was an almost identical case on Radio 4 last week, except it was
the same owner for 20 years. She had also been trying to get it solved,
but gas companies all told her that her property didn't have gas, so
they couldn't bill her. Eventually she got an MPAN number allocated,
and then could be sold gas. Because she had been trying to sort it out,
they could only bill her for last 12 months usage. (If you haven't
tried to correct such an issue, they can bill you right back to the
date of gas privatisation.)

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 16/09/2013 14:16, Muddymike wrote:

Don't for one minute think I am recommending this course of action but I
did know a guy some 40 years ago that found a pipe just like the one you
describe in the basement of an old house he had just bought. A few
months later he had full gas central heating and hot water running off
it. He lived there for at least ten years and never did get a gas meter!

:¬)

Perish the thought...
Got an engineer booked in got a Live/Dead check on the weekend.
The original street pipe was replaced with plastic one last year so I'd
have hoped they might have hooked all properties at the time rather than
now have to come and dig the road back up to connect the occasional house.
Time will tell.

Cheers
Pete@

Andrew Gabriel wrote:

So the house had no gas bills for over 20 years.

Friends of mine moved into a new house over 10 years ago, never received
bills, they now rent the property out "including gas", but the new
tenant would like to change supplier ... guess it might catch up with
them soon!

On 16/09/2013 13:14, www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote:
Hi Folks,
Not really a D-I-Y option but we're looking at getting an old property
connected to the gas. There is what appears to be a steel pipe running
into a corner of the property capped off. I can only think it is an old
gas service that was fitted when gas was run along the street but never
connected up.
Would the gas board (Wales and West) ever use an old pipe such as this
or would they insist on running a new plastic line or even running a
smaller plastic line up the inside of an old steel pipe?

Looks like the neighbours possibly have their gas piped up a similar old
steel pipe.

I'm waiting to hear back from Wales&West but thought someone here might
have come across the same situation.
Cheers
Pete@

If the neighbours are still using the steel pipes per se - as opposed to
plastic pipes running inside the steel - then your pipe may well be
live. Do you know whether the neighbours have plastic inside the steel?

We had a new plastic gas main - with plastic pipes inside the steel
supply pipes a few years ago. I would imagine that the whole country has
been done by now. My in-laws used to live in a bungalow with a capped
off gas supply which was installed when the house was built. They never
used gas, so the supply remained capped off.

When the area was converted to plastic, I'm pretty sure that their
capped off supply was disconnected at the main. If yours is like that,
you'd have to pay for a hole to be dug and for a plastic pipe to be
inserted and connected into the main.

I'd be inclined to unscrew the cap and see whether any gas comes out!
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

"mike" wrote in message
...
On Monday, September 16, 2013 1:44:17 PM UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

BG did indeed run a plastic pipe inside the original iron barrel here
when

they installed a new main in the street.

Same here earlier this year.

Ditto.

Roger Mills wrote:

We had a new plastic gas main - with plastic pipes inside the steel
supply pipes a few years ago. I would imagine that the whole country has
been done by now.

Still steel here (70's house in Leicestershire) and parents (60's house
in Lincolnshire).

In message , at 14:58:07 on Mon, 16 Sep
2013, www.GymRatZ.co.uk remarked:
Got an engineer booked in got a Live/Dead check on the weekend.
The original street pipe was replaced with plastic one last year so I'd
have hoped they might have hooked all properties at the time rather than
now have to come and dig the road back up to connect the occasional house.
Time will tell.

That may depend on who was living in the house at the time of the
replacement exercise. I had a house about eight years ago where they
gave very little notice (although clearly there were holes in the road
everywhere) and tried to give the impression that if you didn't
co-operate and let them in on exactly the day they were doing your bit
of the street, that they'd just cut it off and carry on without you.

It wouldn't take more than a week or two being away to have missed the
entire exercise.
--
Roland Perry

"www.GymRatZ.co.uk" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,
Not really a D-I-Y option but we're looking at getting an old property
connected to the gas. There is what appears to be a steel pipe running
into a corner of the property capped off. I can only think it is an old
gas service that was fitted when gas was run along the street but never
connected up.
Would the gas board (Wales and West) ever use an old pipe such as this
or would they insist on running a new plastic line or even running a
smaller plastic line up the inside of an old steel pipe?

Looks like the neighbours possibly have their gas piped up a similar old
steel pipe.

I'm waiting to hear back from Wales&West but thought someone here might
have come across the same situation.


I have had my gas meter removed.
They were going to charge me rental on it.
I don't use gas.

On 16/09/2013 14:27, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 14:16:09 +0100, Phil L wrote:

Muddymike wrote:
Hi Folks,
Not really a D-I-Y option but we're looking at getting an old property
connected to the gas. There is what appears to be a steel pipe running
into a corner of the property capped off. I can only think it is an
old gas service that was fitted when gas was run along the street but
never connected up.
Would the gas board (Wales and West) ever use an old pipe such as this
or would they insist on running a new plastic line or even running a
smaller plastic line up the inside of an old steel pipe?

Looks like the neighbours possibly have their gas piped up a similar
old steel pipe.

I'm waiting to hear back from Wales&West but thought someone here
might have come across the same situation.

Don't for one minute think I am recommending this course of action but
I did know a guy some 40 years ago that found a pipe just like the one
you describe in the basement of an old house he had just bought. A few
months later he had full gas central heating and hot water running off
it. He lived there for at least ten years and never did get a gas
meter!

He probably did get a meter, just not one that any gas company knew
about - they are freely available.
I've known a few people do this, a chap I knew had extensive work done
on his house, one of the jobs he did himself while all the suspended
floors were being filled in with mot prior to concreting, was to branch
off the gas main so that he had another meter coming up under his
stairs, needless to say, his CH and HW came from this, while the
official meter supplied his gas hob

I wonder how efficient the gas fraud detection systems are ? Presumably
with electricity it's a fairly easy job to say "we made X GW of energy,
but only got paid for Y" (where YX). Especially if you meter down to
substation level.

Is the same possible with CuM of gas ?

Considering that a fraud detection system could also be of value in
detecting leaks, it would seem to be an excellent idea to have such a
system.

My experiences of gas leaks over the past five to ten years suggests to
me that they have absolutely no idea where a huge proportion of gas
goes. They might know to the kilowatt hour exactly how much they push
down the pipes - and then they lose track of it.

In our own case, when our water main burst, the gas people found five
leaks. (I had reported the smell of gas on three occasions over the
years. Once they checked it out and said it was insignificant.)

In several parts of town where we regularly drive, a very noticeable
smell of gas has existed for years. Nothing done. Then one day they
clearly do an emergency repair. Smell disappears at that precise spot. A
few tens or metres up or down the road, the smell still continues. A few
weeks/months/years later they fix that.

--
Rod

www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote:
On 16/09/2013 14:16, Muddymike wrote:

Don't for one minute think I am recommending this course of action
but I did know a guy some 40 years ago that found a pipe just like
the one you describe in the basement of an old house he had just
bought. A few months later he had full gas central heating and hot
water running off it. He lived there for at least ten years and
never did get a gas meter!

¬)

Perish the thought...
Got an engineer booked in got a Live/Dead check on the weekend.
The original street pipe was replaced with plastic one last year so


I'd have hoped they might have hooked all properties at the time
rather than now have to come and dig the road back up to connect the
occasional house. Time will tell.

Well considering that they now remove unused gas supplies to houses[1] and
that involves digging the road up, I would be surprised if they would add an
unused supply to a house.

[1] My friend applied to buy his council house. It had a gas supply but no
gas appliances. Just before the completion date Transco (or whatever)
informed him that they were removing the unused gas supply. Now the first
thing he wanted to do when he bought the house was install gas CH so he
explained the situation to them (ie in 6 weeks time he would be needing gas
so could they leave it in). And sure as hell they removed the gas the day
before he bought the house (for free) and then had to reconnect another 6
weeks later (at his expense).

--
Adam

On 16/09/2013 19:04, polygonum wrote:
On 16/09/2013 14:27, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 14:16:09 +0100, Phil L wrote:

Muddymike wrote:
Hi Folks,
Not really a D-I-Y option but we're looking at getting an old property
connected to the gas. There is what appears to be a steel pipe running
into a corner of the property capped off. I can only think it is an
old gas service that was fitted when gas was run along the street but
never connected up.
Would the gas board (Wales and West) ever use an old pipe such as this
or would they insist on running a new plastic line or even running a
smaller plastic line up the inside of an old steel pipe?

Looks like the neighbours possibly have their gas piped up a similar
old steel pipe.

I'm waiting to hear back from Wales&West but thought someone here
might have come across the same situation.

Don't for one minute think I am recommending this course of action but
I did know a guy some 40 years ago that found a pipe just like the one
you describe in the basement of an old house he had just bought. A few
months later he had full gas central heating and hot water running off
it. He lived there for at least ten years and never did get a gas
meter!

He probably did get a meter, just not one that any gas company knew
about - they are freely available.
I've known a few people do this, a chap I knew had extensive work done
on his house, one of the jobs he did himself while all the suspended
floors were being filled in with mot prior to concreting, was to branch
off the gas main so that he had another meter coming up under his
stairs, needless to say, his CH and HW came from this, while the
official meter supplied his gas hob

I wonder how efficient the gas fraud detection systems are ? Presumably
with electricity it's a fairly easy job to say "we made X GW of energy,
but only got paid for Y" (where YX). Especially if you meter down to
substation level.

Is the same possible with CuM of gas ?

Considering that a fraud detection system could also be of value in
detecting leaks, it would seem to be an excellent idea to have such a
system.

My experiences of gas leaks over the past five to ten years suggests to
me that they have absolutely no idea where a huge proportion of gas
goes. They might know to the kilowatt hour exactly how much they push
down the pipes - and then they lose track of it.

In our own case, when our water main burst, the gas people found five
leaks. (I had reported the smell of gas on three occasions over the
years. Once they checked it out and said it was insignificant.)

In several parts of town where we regularly drive, a very noticeable
smell of gas has existed for years. Nothing done. Then one day they
clearly do an emergency repair. Smell disappears at that precise spot. A
few tens or metres up or down the road, the smell still continues. A few
weeks/months/years later they fix that.

Back in the days when I still lived at my parents, we called out BG
three times to a smell of gas in the porch. They insisted there was no
problem. We then called them out a fourth time and pointed out the leak
in *their* pipework to the meter, which we'd found simply with soap and
water.

SteveW

In article , Jethro_uk
scribeth thus
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 19:04:41 +0100, polygonum wrote:


My experiences of gas leaks over the past five to ten years suggests to
me that they have absolutely no idea where a huge proportion of gas
goes. They might know to the kilowatt hour exactly how much they push
down the pipes - and then they lose track of it.

When I worked for British Gas "Central Control", we'd vent cubic
*kilometres* of gas from offtakes when undertaking pigging runs. The CAA
had to be informed, as planes flying overhead could conceivably crash ...

What's a "pigging run" please?...

--
Tony Sayer

tony sayer wrote:

In article , Jethro_uk

When I worked for British Gas "Central Control", we'd vent cubic
*kilometres* of gas from offtakes when undertaking pigging runs. The CAA
had to be informed, as planes flying overhead could conceivably crash ...

What's a "pigging run" please?...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

"Pigging in the context of pipelines refers to the practice of
using pipeline inspection gauges or 'pigs' to perform various
maintenance operations on a pipeline. This is done without
stopping the flow of the product in the pipeline.

These operations include but are not limited to cleaning and
inspecting the pipeline. This is accomplished by inserting the
pig into a 'pig launcher' (or 'launching station') - a funnel
shaped Y section in the pipeline. The launcher / launching
station is then closed and the pressure-driven flow of the
product in the pipeline is used to push it along down the pipe
until it reaches the receiving trap – the 'pig catcher' (or
'receiving station')."

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Plant amazing Acers.

tony sayer wrote:

scribeth thus

When I worked for British Gas "Central Control", we'd vent cubic
*kilometres* of gas from offtakes when undertaking pigging runs.

What's a "pigging run" please?...

A pig is a device that is inserted into the pipeline and then blown
along, either to survey them, or clean them.

In message , tony sayer
writes
In article , Jethro_uk
scribeth thus
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 19:04:41 +0100, polygonum wrote:


My experiences of gas leaks over the past five to ten years suggests to
me that they have absolutely no idea where a huge proportion of gas
goes. They might know to the kilowatt hour exactly how much they push
down the pipes - and then they lose track of it.

When I worked for British Gas "Central Control", we'd vent cubic
*kilometres* of gas from offtakes when undertaking pigging runs. The CAA
had to be informed, as planes flying overhead could conceivably crash ...

What's a "pigging run" please?...

Guessing.. pipeline internal inspection by *pig*.


--
Tim Lamb

In message , at 09:04:39 on
Tue, 17 Sep 2013, Chris J Dixon remarked:
"Pigging in the context of pipelines refers to the practice of
using pipeline inspection gauges or 'pigs' to perform various
maintenance operations on a pipeline. This is done without
stopping the flow of the product in the pipeline.

Or in the case of town gas, having let the product escape, it seems.
--
Roland Perry

On Monday, September 16, 2013 2:16:09 PM UTC+1, Phil L wrote:
He probably did get a meter, just not one that any gas company knew about -
they are freely available.

Hypothetically, wouldn't one also need a regulator/governor?

I suppose such people aren't worried about the GasSafe person doing their annual boiler check reporting it?

Owain

wrote:

On Monday, September 16, 2013 2:16:09 PM UTC+1, Phil L wrote:

He probably did get a meter, just not one that any gas company knew about -
they are freely available.

Hypothetically, wouldn't one also need a regulator/governor? I
suppose such people aren't worried about the GasSafe person doing
their annual boiler check reporting it?

I wouldn't advocate it, but how would Mr Gas Safe know?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231053303457

My newest meter does have a collar and security tag around one of the
pipes where it mounts onto the plate, but plenty of meters have never
had those.

In article , Jethro_uk
scribeth thus
On Tue, 17 Sep 2013 08:42:58 +0100, tony sayer wrote:

In article , Jethro_uk
scribeth thus
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 19:04:41 +0100, polygonum wrote:


My experiences of gas leaks over the past five to ten years suggests
to me that they have absolutely no idea where a huge proportion of gas
goes. They might know to the kilowatt hour exactly how much they push
down the pipes - and then they lose track of it.

When I worked for British Gas "Central Control", we'd vent cubic
*kilometres* of gas from offtakes when undertaking pigging runs. The CAA
had to be informed, as planes flying overhead could conceivably crash
...

What's a "pigging run" please?...

Others have answered for me - it was a remote controlled device for
inspecting the inside of the high pressure (75Bar) pipes. Only back in
the 80s they couldn't work in gas, so stretches of pipe would be isolated
and vented ... methane is lighter than air so goes *up*.

Learn summatt every day..


Funnily enough, there was a theory which had some vogue a few years ago,
that the Bermuda Triangle was actually an undersea phenomenon which
sporadically released large burps of methane ... which would make it
impossible to float or fly over .....

Interesting concept must have been a hellauva burp to have done that!..
--
Tony Sayer

tony sayer wrote:
In article , Jethro_uk
scribeth thus
On Tue, 17 Sep 2013 08:42:58 +0100, tony sayer wrote:

In article , Jethro_uk
scribeth thus
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 19:04:41 +0100, polygonum wrote:


My experiences of gas leaks over the past five to ten years
suggests to me that they have absolutely no idea where a huge
proportion of gas goes. They might know to the kilowatt hour
exactly how much they push down the pipes - and then they lose
track of it.

When I worked for British Gas "Central Control", we'd vent cubic
*kilometres* of gas from offtakes when undertaking pigging runs.
The CAA had to be informed, as planes flying overhead could
conceivably crash ...

What's a "pigging run" please?...

Others have answered for me - it was a remote controlled device for
inspecting the inside of the high pressure (75Bar) pipes. Only back
in the 80s they couldn't work in gas, so stretches of pipe would be
isolated and vented ... methane is lighter than air so goes *up*.

Learn summatt every day..


Funnily enough, there was a theory which had some vogue a few years
ago, that the Bermuda Triangle was actually an undersea phenomenon
which sporadically released large burps of methane ... which would
make it impossible to float or fly over .....

Interesting concept must have been a hellauva burp to have done
that!..

Sub-sea earthquake causing a "landslide" reducing the pressure on methane
hydrates which then gassify. It could happen conceivably and would be a
good explanation for a lot of Bermuda triangle "events".

Tim

In message , at 15:20:58 on Tue, 17 Sep
2013, tony sayer remarked:
Funnily enough, there was a theory which had some vogue a few years ago,
that the Bermuda Triangle was actually an undersea phenomenon which
sporadically released large burps of methane ... which would make it
impossible to float or fly over .....

Interesting concept must have been a hellauva burp to have done that!..

Not very plausible given that it would result in wreckage of planes and
flotsam from boats.
--
Roland Perry

On 17/09/2013 00:19, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 19:04:41 +0100, polygonum wrote:


My experiences of gas leaks over the past five to ten years suggests to
me that they have absolutely no idea where a huge proportion of gas
goes. They might know to the kilowatt hour exactly how much they push
down the pipes - and then they lose track of it.

When I worked for British Gas "Central Control", we'd vent cubic
*kilometres* of gas from offtakes when undertaking pigging runs. The CAA
had to be informed, as planes flying overhead could conceivably crash ...

I guess no-one cared about global warming back then?

Andy

In article , Vir Campestris vir.campestr
lid scribeth thus
On 17/09/2013 00:19, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 19:04:41 +0100, polygonum wrote:


My experiences of gas leaks over the past five to ten years suggests to
me that they have absolutely no idea where a huge proportion of gas
goes. They might know to the kilowatt hour exactly how much they push
down the pipes - and then they lose track of it.

When I worked for British Gas "Central Control", we'd vent cubic
*kilometres* of gas from offtakes when undertaking pigging runs. The CAA
had to be informed, as planes flying overhead could conceivably crash ...

I guess no-one cared about global warming back then?

Andy

How did they manage not to set light to a kilo square gas cloud that
would have made an atomic scale bang surely;?..
--
Tony Sayer

tony sayer wrote:
In article , Vir Campestris vir.campestr
lid scribeth thus
On 17/09/2013 00:19, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 19:04:41 +0100, polygonum wrote:


My experiences of gas leaks over the past five to ten years suggests to
me that they have absolutely no idea where a huge proportion of gas
goes. They might know to the kilowatt hour exactly how much they push
down the pipes - and then they lose track of it.

When I worked for British Gas "Central Control", we'd vent cubic
*kilometres* of gas from offtakes when undertaking pigging runs. The CAA
had to be informed, as planes flying overhead could conceivably crash ...

I guess no-one cared about global warming back then?

Andy

How did they manage not to set light to a kilo square gas cloud that
would have made an atomic scale bang surely;?..

I'm guessing they actually flared it off rather than releasing it unburnt
but that is just a guess.

Tim