South Wales West Assembly Member Suzy Davies visited the site of the company’s essential gas works on Quay Parade in Swansea – which finished a week ahead of schedule on Friday (26 June), and spoke with managers at the company’s depot in Llandarcy about Wales & West Utilities’ investment in the gas network in the South Wales West region.
Following a briefing on gas works in the last ten years and plans for the next five Ms Davies toured the depot yard where the new long lasting plastic pipe that is used to replace old metallic gas pipe is stored, before accompanying senior business and operational managers on a visit to see the work on Quay Parade.
Gareth Robinson, Wales & West Utilities area business manager for west Wales said:
“It was a pleasure showing Ms Davies round our depot at Llandarcy, and to have the opportunity to explain about our investment in the South Wales West region over the last ten years, and what we have planned for the future.
“We’re pleased we finished our work on Quay Parade ahead of schedule, and our teams really pulled out all the stops to get it completed as safely and as quickly as possible. But we know that the work there, and on Fabian Way several weeks ago, was inconvenient. The work was essential to maintain a safe and reliable supply of gas now and in the future, and working where we have over the last few weeks means that we can avoid what would be significant, long lasting disruption on Fabian Way bridge.”
The work at Quay Parade was needed as the gas pipes that cross the Fabian Way bridge were in need of maintenance. Due to their location and depth below ground, excavating and replacing these pipes would have caused major, long term inconvenience for Swansea commuters. To avoid this, the gas network in the area was redesigned so a safe and secure supply of gas can be maintained and the gas pipes crossing the bridge can be decommissioned.
The work to disconnect two gas mains is the final part of that redesign, and followed work carried out over the May bank holiday on Fabian Way.
Suzy Davies AM said:
“It was genuinely fascinating to be able to see the amount of work and preparation that goes into planning large scale projects as well as the ongoing maintenance work that is required to the gas network in Swansea.
“I am pleased to see that Wales & West Utilities communicate with other groups as well as the Council so that the work they need to carry out causes as little disruption as possible.
“This is even more important when we have a number of large events coming to Swansea shortly, including the Wales National Air Show.”
Every week, we invest more than £2m in replacing and maintaining our gas network. In the last ten years we have replaced more than 440 kilometres of old metal gas pipes with new plastic ones in the South Wales West area. This is part of our multi-million-pound 30-year mains replacement programme, across Wales and the south west of England. Old metal pipes within 30 metres of buildings are being replaced with new long-lasting plastic pipes with a lifespan of more than 80 years.
We are celebrating 10 years of delivering gas safely and securely to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses across Wales and the south west of England. We do not sell gas, we transport it, and more than 7.5 million customers rely on us to do so.
Our dedicated and skilled teams manage and maintain a gas network of more than 35,000 kilometres of gas pipes to make sure we continue to provide a safe and reliable gas supply 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Every year we connect more than 11,000 new customers to our gas network and respond to more than 90,000 gas escapes.
If you smell gas, think you have a gas leak, or suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, call us immediately on 0800 111 999 and our engineers will be there to help, day or night