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Investigation into missing gas pipe records in tower blocks
Energy regulator Ofgem has launched an investigation into a major gas company about concerns it failed to keep records of gas pipes in more than 1,000 tower blocks.
Cadent Gas, which operates and maintains pipes in four regions of England, found some blocks were missing from its 10-year survey.
The company alerted Ofgem in February, and the regulator launched its investigation yesterday.
Checks prompted by the Grenfell Tower fire revealed the missing records, which concerned pipes or “risers” in just over 1,000 blocks of flats in the company’s network, after a local council put in a request for information. Grenfell Tower was not one of these blocks.
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Cadent, the country’s largest gas distribution company, owns four of the eight gas networks –West Midlands, North West, East of England and North London. It has a responsibility to keep records of all of its pipes.
It split from its former parent company, the National Grid, just last year.
Ofgem said that opening an investigation did not imply it had made any findings about non-compliance.
In a statement, a Cadent spokesman said: “Between January and February 2018, Cadent identified that some of our records regarding high-rise buildings – buildings of six storeys and above – were not contained on our digitised records and were therefore not part of our regular 10-yearly rolling survey programme.
“As a consequence we informed Ofgem at the earliest opportunity in early February and have continued regular progress briefings to date.
“Alongside this we immediately implemented a survey recovery programme to resolve the issue as quickly and effectively as possible. This programme of work will be substantially completed in July 2018.
“Cadent will fully co-operate with Ofgem’s investigation, but at this stage it is not appropriate to comment further.”
Ofgem said it was investigating “whether Cadent kept and maintained records for all of its risers, whether it has the appropriate systems in place and, as a consequence, whether it maintains an efficient and economical pipeline system”.
