In 2025, three major gas distributors received combined fines of £8 million from Ofgem for failing to meet emergency response time targets. These incidents highlight a challenge that many gas companies face: locating and responding to reported leaks quickly and safely, while also minimising disruption to the public.
Gas distribution companies operate under strict regulatory frameworks that require them to identify and attend 97% of reported gas leaks within one or two hours, depending on the type of leak. Underneath the UK’s streets lies a complex system of underground assets – including gas pipes, water mains, and electrical cables – making the job of finding specific gas leaks difficult. Without precise knowledge of where these assets are located, engineers can risk creating further damage to pipes, delaying repairs, and causing additional disruption for customers.
Location data offers a direct solution to this challenge. By combining geographic insights with real-world sensor data, gas companies can improve emergency response times, enhance worker and public safety, and reduce the costs of both reactive repairs and inefficient maintenance visits.
The challenge of underground assets
Gas networks span thousands of kilometres, running beneath streets and properties across Great Britain. Many of these assets have been in place for decades, so documentation of their exact positions can be outdated or inconsistent.
When a gas leak is reported, engineers must locate the fault quickly, but without a clear map of underground assets, this process becomes slow and potentially dangerous. Inaccurate asset data can lead to delays in reaching problem sites, unnecessary excavations, and an increased risk of accidentally striking other underground assets.
How location data can help
The National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) is a digital map of all buried utility pipes and cables in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Ordnance Survey (OS) data, in combination with the NUAR, gives gas companies detailed visibility of underground networks and assets, allowing engineers to plan safe digging routes, understand exactly where gas pipes are located, and avoid interfering with other utility infrastructure.
Additional OS data themes, like Land Use, can provide further information, such as whether an asset is below a residential or a commercial site, helping to make informed decisions around site visits and whether digging would be a possibility. OS Land Use data can also be used to identify potential dangers around assets, informing planning for that location. This can help gas companies avoid failed site visits due to unforeseen hazards, reducing uncertainty and improving efficiency during maintenance operations.
With accurate asset mapping and location intelligence, engineers can reach leak sites faster, reducing the time between incident report and maintenance. This directly supports gas companies in complying with Ofgem's response time requirements, minimising the window during which the public is exposed to safety risks and helping gas companies avoid costly fines.
Moving beyond emergency responses
Whilst rapid emergency response is crucial for gas companies, leak prevention is an equally important issue to reduce the need for urgent interventions. Gas companies can integrate OS location data with Internet of Things (IoT) sensor data from across networks to detect early signs of asset degradation that may cause leakages. By identifying which sections of networks are most likely to fail, in combination with location information needed for on-site repairs, gas companies can shift to a more preventive model of maintenance, reducing the frequency of emergency callouts and lowering overall network upkeep costs.
Supporting decarbonisation and future infrastructure
As the gas sector progresses towards decarbonisation, new energy sources like hydrogen are being explored as cleaner alternatives, with location data playing a vital role in facilitating this transition. In particular, the same mapping and monitoring capabilities that support today's gas networks will be essential to identify opportunities to upgrade existing infrastructure for a low-carbon future.
This is already taking shape in practice. The UK gas industry is actively trialling the repurposing of existing pipelines for hydrogen, with SGN's 2025 LTS Futures trial successfully converting a 30 km stretch of Local Transmission System pipeline to carry hydrogen. DNV has similarly confirmed that adapting existing infrastructure for hydrogen transport is a viable economic option and a credible part of the UK's transition strategy – a case further supported by trials such as HyDeploy, which has demonstrated the safe transport of hydrogen blends of up to 20%.
With advanced analytics, OS location data can be used in predictive models to enable gas companies to forecast asset lifecycles, optimise maintenance scheduling, and make better-informed investment decisions about network upgrades. This ensures infrastructure can keep pace with the rapidly evolving energy landscape.
A safer, more efficient future
Gas companies that invest in location data will be empowered to confidently meet today's regulatory requirements, all while building the foundations for tomorrow's more sustainable energy systems. Using OS data and the NUAR, gas utilities can deliver faster emergency response, reduce maintenance costs, and identify opportunities for decarbonisation, protecting both their customers and long-term business performance.
Ready to optimise your gas networks? Get in touch with the Ordnance Survey team today or click below, to discover how OS data can help your organisation make more confident decisions.
