Third party damage causes gas supply loss in Herne Bay CT6

Gas supplies to properties in the Cornwall Road area of Herne Bay were affected after SGN's network was damaged by a third party on Saturday 25 January, the network operator said. In its first update that evening, SGN said supplies to several hundred properties had been affected and that engineers remained on site investigating the extent of the damage and establishing the repairs needed to the affected gas main¹.

The company's estimate of the number of homes involved changed during the incident. On Monday 27 January it said the area impacted affected around 1,200 properties; that evening it revised the figure, saying 1,750 properties had been affected rather than approximately 1,200, which it attributed to a number of customers who had self-isolated and were now confirmed off. SGN said it did not expect the number to rise significantly again¹. Repairs to the damaged pipeline were completed on Sunday 26 January, and restoration of supplies began in some locations that evening¹.

Progress was reported in stages: around 400 properties visited by Monday lunchtime, 850 reconnected by Monday evening (including two local schools able to reopen the following morning), 690 properties remaining on Tuesday lunchtime and 382 remaining on Tuesday evening¹. On Wednesday 29 January SGN said gas was available in Herne Bay and almost all affected properties had been reconnected; some had still not been restored because engineers could not gain access when they called¹.

SGN opened a customer centre at St Peters Church, Herne Drive, Herne Bay CT6 7SH, which stayed open until 9pm on 29 January. Portable electric appliances for cooking and heating were offered to customers who are elderly, disabled, chronically ill or have young children or other special needs, and on Sunday 26 January SGN said high demand had used up all portable heaters, leaving only hotplates while it awaited another delivery, with remaining hotplates prioritised for customers on the Priority Services Register¹. SGN said it focused on restoring supplies to vulnerable customers on that register first¹.

On compensation, SGN said households without gas for more than 24 hours receive £70 per household for each complete 24-hour period without gas, paid automatically through the energy supplier as a credit on the next bill, as agreed with the energy regulator Ofgem. SGN said processing usually takes four to five weeks but can take up to three months to appear, depending on the supplier's billing cycle¹.

Why it matters for households

SGN told customers in the affected roads not to try to turn their own gas supply back on, saying engineers would visit every affected property to do this for safety reasons and that supplies had to be restored strategically to protect the security and integrity of the network. It warned that neighbouring streets might be switched on first¹. Customers who believed their supply was affected were asked to report "no gas" by calling the national gas emergency service on 0800 111 999, and every customer in those roads was asked to ensure all gas appliances and equipment were turned off, including the emergency control valve by the meter, whether or not their supply was affected¹. SGN's published steps say to turn off all gas appliances first, then give the ECV a quarter turn in either direction so it sits at a right angle to the gas pipe, and to display the appropriate label on a front door or window so engineers know the status of the supply¹. Anyone smelling gas at any point was told to call 0800 111 999¹. Households can read more on what to do when the mains supply goes off and on getting a supply back on after an outage; SGN's role is explained in which network operator covers your home.

What happens next

SGN said its 29 January update was its final one for this incident. Customers who were out when an engineer called were asked to contact its 24-hour customer service team on 0800 912 1717 to arrange a revisit, and the customer centre at St Peters Church was to remain open until 9pm that day for questions, concerns or reconnection¹. Compensation is paid automatically, with no application needed¹.