An Emergency Control Valve (ECV) is a safety mechanism on a gas service pipe connecting a gas meter to the gas mains. Every gas customer pipe installation and meter will have one as required by legalisation.
The ECV is situated where the gas network or gas transporters pipe meets the gas meter. Its purpose is to control the flow of gas where it should be switched off in the event of an emergency / gas escape, or where there is no gas meter installation already in place.
When the requirement to exchange the ECV is identified NGN are required to interrupt the customers gas supply on 100% of occasions, replace the equipment and then undertake a reconnection operation.
The need to introduce technology into business operations is commonplace within GDN’s and is aligned to the advancement technology and wider acceptance and appetite to look for innovative solutions within NGN. The implementation of improved techniques, equipment and processes into NGN has enabled the exploitation of technology based solutions to support and execute business operations.
The adoption of the proposed solution paves the way for NGN to potentially undertake live operations on our network assets with the need to interrupt customer’s supplies and the impact on customers be significantly reduced.
Objectives
The primary objectives are to determine if a prototype system meets the requirements to undertake a ECV exchange in a safe, controlled manner and in ‘no gas’ conditions on live gas supply.
The specific objectives are:
• Development of a concept – TRL4
• Selection of the most suitable enclosure – flexible vs rigid
• Demonstration of the concept in a controlled environment
• Review of E&R Procedures related specifically to ECV exchange
• Development timeline for TRL5 to TRL8
