UK bill will allow gas companies to force entry into people's homes for hydrogen heating trials
British legislators plan to extend legal right of gas companies to enter private properties to make them safe as part of H2 trials — but say that they would only be used as a last resort
Legislators in the UK are working on a new bill that would grant gas suppliers and distributors more powers to force entry into private citizens’ homes if they’re located in an area that is taking part in a hydrogen trial — to the alarm of residents whose properties have been nominated for it.
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Officials insist that the powers would only be used to ensure public safety, and only as a last resort.
The Energy Security Bill, which is currently in the early stages of passage through the UK Parliament’s upper house, the House of Lords, would extend existing powers of entry to allow gas companies to “ensure that consumers in the trial area can be safely connected to hydrogen instead of natural gas”.
The UK government has pledged to have a “hydrogen village” up and running by 2025, with the aim of testing and demonstrating hydrogen distribution across an existing natural gas network, as well as the use of the fuel in domestic heating and cooking.
Residents in the Whitby proposal fear that British Gas, the utility which is working with Cadent to carry out gas safety checks ahead of the trial, will ultimately use the new powers to forcibly cut off the gas supply for residents who are opting out of using hydrogen.
Locals are suspicious of Cadent’s lobbying efforts with the government, with a 700-strong Facebook group warning that policy is being made without their best interests at heart.
Grannell’s petition claims that the legislation will allow British Gas to enter a property and carry out works to discontinue supply.
But Cadent Gas denies that the powers will be used in this way.
However the draft legislation does appear to imply that the powers could be used in this way, in the name of safety.
“The Bill will enable the effective and safe delivery of a hydrogen heat grid conversion trial... by extending gas distribution network operators’ (GDNs) existing powers of entry to ensure that consumers in the trial area can be safely connected to hydrogen instead of natural gas, and to cover the full range of in-home alterations which may be needed to conduct a hydrogen trial, such as replacing appliances and installing and testing safety valves,” reads the UK government’s factsheet on the Energy Security Bill.
The increased powers of entry are “necessary legislative changes to facilitate the village trial”, it says, and would only be used as a last resort. This would apply to situations where customer safety would be at risk, and where all other methods of agreement with the property owner have been exhausted.
The gas supplier would also be required to secure a warrant from a judge.
Safety concerns
Gas suppliers already have powers of entry under UK law, in the event of an emergency, to carry out safety work — such as fixing a leak — or with a warrant, for example to disconnect a customer who is in arrears with their gas bill.
The new bill appears to extend these powers laterally, to include users who are part of the hydrogen trial but neither in arrears nor with any inherent safety issues with their natural-gas supply.
A non-hydrogen-ready methane boiler would not have the right oxygen flow rate to burn hydrogen efficiently, leading to appliance degradation and a risk of unburned fuel leaking into the home, increasing the chances of an explosion. And typical gas cooking appliances would suffer a similar fate if used with hydrogen.
The gas company is unlikely to be able to shut off supply from outside the property, and would need to close the valve located next to the gas meter, which is usually located either just outside or inside the building, the engineer said.