RESIDENTS of a St Saviour estate have called on Island Energy to urgently disconnect their gas supply after a series of suspected gas leaks left homeowners fearing there could be wider problems with the network.
The Les Cinq Chênes Homeowners’ Association has written to the utility company urging it to isolate the estate’s gas supply until the infrastructure can be confirmed as safe, describing the situation as a matter of “urgency”.
The letter – seen by the JEP – follows reports of two gas leaks at the estate on the same day, with one property requiring attendance from Island Energy engineers. Residents say they were warned that the estate’s gas supply could need to be isolated in the near future.
Writing on behalf of homeowners at properties 1 to 30, association representative Sophie Reid said the incidents had caused “significant concern and anxiety” among residents, particularly “in light of recent events involving gas safety”.
The association said one of the leaks was only discovered after a resident asked an engineer, who was already working at another property, to inspect their home.
According to the letter, when the engineer opened the pipework, “the kitchen immediately filled with gas”. A gas detection meter then confirmed there was an active leak.
Residents said that, had the engineer not been asked to investigate while already on site, “this leak may have remained undetected”.
The association also said two other properties had been confirmed as still having live gas supplies, while another resident had reported smelling gas the previous day. Although no leak had been confirmed at those addresses, residents said the reports added to fears that there could be further undetected problems across the estate.
“The affected and potentially affected properties are spread across the estate rather than being located together, which naturally raises concerns that this may not be an isolated issue,” the letter stated.
Residents also criticised what they described as Island Energy’s response to their concerns, claiming several homeowners who contacted the company were told engineers could not be booked to inspect the estate’s gas pipework.
“We do not feel that these concerns have been taken seriously enough,” the association said.
The letter urges Island Energy to “urgently consider isolating the gas supply to the estate until it can be confirmed that the infrastructure is safe”, while also calling for a thorough inspection of the estate’s gas network and for the matter to be escalated to senior management.
Responding to the concerns, an Island Energy spokesperson said the company had attended three reports of suspected gas escapes at Les Cinq Chênes last week.
“We can confirm that we did respond to three calls from residents in the Les Cinq Chênes estate concerning suspected gas escapes last week,” the spokesperson said.
“Our engineers quickly resolved two of the reports, while no gas escape was found on the third. Neither of the two reports required an evacuation and a thorough survey of the whole estate was carried out to check for any further issues.”
The company added that Les Cinq Chênes is already scheduled to be disconnected from the gas network as part of wider infrastructure upgrades across the Island.
“It’s part of the upgrades we are doing across the Island, and we will advise residents of when that work will be carried out,” the spokesperson said.
Island Energy also thanked residents who reported the suspected leaks and reminded Islanders who smell gas or suspect a gas escape to contact its 24-hour emergency line.
