Stannington gas crisis: Cadent issues update as hundreds of Sheffield households remain without gas

Gas distribution company Cadent said on Saturday evening that a number of properties in Stannington had had their gas supply restored that day, with appliances and gas meters checked. But Cadent said it wasn’t able to get gas flowing to more properties in Malin Bridge due to the ‘huge volume of water’ in the gas network there.

Cadent said it had found a pool of water in some streets yesterday which prevented it from restoring gas to as many properties as it had hoped and meant some properties which had previously not been affected lost their gas supply. Despite the latest setback it said it still estimated that most properties would have their gas flowing again by tonight, Sunday, December 11.

In an update posted at 10.42pm on Saturday, Cadent said: “The sheer volume of water in the gas pipes has been the issue. Seven days on and we are still pumping water out of the gas pipes. We are still estimating that the majority of properties will be back on by Sunday night.

“We are expecting to be back in the area on Monday. We will be here for those properties where we haven’t been able to gain access to switch their gas supply on. We will also be focusing on issues with gas appliances or to deal with any remaining water in the network.”

A water main in Stannington burst on Friday, December 2, flooding gas pipes in the area and knocking out boilers, cookers and fires for thousands of residents. Cadent said yesterday that it had around 250 engineers on site and would have the same number working in the area on Sunday. It said that it had been unable to gain access to around 300 properties to switch on the gas supply and asked people to remain in their homes if possible, leave a key with a neighbour or let Cadent know if they were going to be away.

Ofgem said on Saturday that as of 9am that morning, 340 consumers had been without gas for a week. It added: “While we are grateful to engineers from Cadent and all of the other organisations who are working around the clock to restore supplies as soon as possible, we are extremely concerned that 194 consumers on the Priority Services Register remain off gas (as of 9am on December 10), along with hundreds of other homes. We have received assurances from Cadent that each of these customers is being cared for and made comfortable while they wait for their supply to be restored.

“While the vast majority of customers should be back on supply over the weekend, it is possible that there will continue to be smaller scale, shorter duration disruptions to supplies as Cadent engineers fully remove all of the water from the gas pipes.”

Ofgem said Cadent has confirmed that all homes left without gas would receive £130 per day compensation, which is double the statutory rate, with businesses getting £210 a day. It said compensation would be paid automatically, with payments expected next week, and those affected would not need to make a claim.

The regulator said Yorkshire Water had confirmed it would handle compensation claims for water damage and additional costs incurred, with affected consumers asked to fill out a form on Yorkshire Water’s website or call a dedicated phoneline on 01274 250555.

Anyone affected by the gas outage can visit the customer centre located at The Lomas Hall, on Church Street, Stannington, S6 6DB, call a support and information phoneline on 0800 917 9598 or visit Cadent’s dedicated webpage.