Frequently Asked Questions

It will normally take around one to two weeks to provide you with a commercial connection quotation. We use our knowledge and experience of the connections marketplace to obtain the most competitive costs. We do this by sourcing the lowest costs for your type of project, from a number of different connection provider companies where possible, taking into account the geographical location of the job. Not all connection provider companies work in all areas of the UK.

Quotations are issued free of charge. With regard to the cost of any works, there are so many factors affecting this that it is not possible to be specific; proximity to the nearest gas main, the amount of gas required and any known engineering difficulties being just a few. As a rough guide however, a typical commercial supply may cost around £2,000 – £3,000 inc. VAT, depending on the length.

Gas pipes and gas meters are sized in relation to the maximum amount of gas that will be needed in any one hour. For commercial properties, the hourly gas requirement is variable and will depend on the number, size and type of appliances that the business will use. The Gas Safe installer that will be connecting your appliances or the company that is supplying them will usually be the best people to contact. The maximum hourly gas load of a commercial property is normally arrived at by adding together the gas input ratings of each appliance (cookers, grills, boiler etc.) to be connected, as if they were all full on at the same time.

No, absolutely not. Gas suppliers do not carry out connections work themselves and will instead, usually go to only one connections provider for a quotation. They don’t install meters either so they will simply use their preferred provider and charge accordingly. Worst of all, they will require you to sign-up to a contract to purchase gas from them, as a condition of providing the connection quotation. You may not obtain the best deal for your connection or the gas that you use for your business and you may pay far more overall.

A standard, low pressure gas meter installation is normally included on all of our new gas connection quotations.

There are specific ventilation requirements for meters located inside buildings that are sized U16 and greater. We recommend that you or your consultant should obtain and follow the appropriate guidance document.

The following notes detail ventilation requirements as outlined by the Institute of Gas Engineers & Managers (IGEM) in the metering guide IGEM/GM/6 Edition 2 – Non-domestic low pressure meter installations. Standard designs, where the flow rate exceeds 6m3/hr (U16 Diaphragm meter or larger). Please be aware that the following notes are provided for information purposes only and without warranty. You should always refer to the current version of the complete document before undertaking any measures.

The purpose of ventilation in a meter installation housing is to;

• Ensure that minor gas leakage does not cause the atmosphere within the housing to become unsafe
• Allows any escape of gas to be smelled or otherwise detected by passers-by
• Reduces condensation

The total effective ventilation area (free area) shall not be less than 2% of the internal floor area of the housing or its notional equivalent and should be equally distributed and disposed at high and low levels around the outside walls.

The notional equivalent floor area is the floor area of an imaginary housing to enclose a meter installation which is, in fact, located in a larger open area such as workshop, boiler house or other part of a building. Where only one wall is used, ventilation must be increased to at least 3% of the notional floor area.

An MPAN and MPRN are unique identifying numbers assigned to your gas and electricity supplies. In the case of electricity, the letters stand for Meter Point Administration Number and for gas, Meter Point Reference Number. These numbers are normally provided by the local gas or electricity distribution networks when the supplies are first installed. The numbers are extremely important when arranging a meter installation or switching energy supplier. They are held on gas or electricity industry databases and they are viewable by industry stakeholders.

We are proud to say that we have a large portfolio of existing gas and electricity customers who  come back to us each year, or when their current deal ends, to source new energy prices for them. More than ever, in today’s volatile energy market it pays shop around and not to just accept the renewal offer from your existing supplier. It’s so quick and easy to get a free, no-obligation price comparison sheet from us. Simply click Get a Quote below, enter some basic information and we’ll do the rest.