14 September 2021 Energy Infrastructure, Metering

What accreditations does a gas meter installer or gas connections provider need?

gas meter

The highest levels of health and safety are necessary on any utility project, metering installation, or site works. But at no time is this more so the case than when gas is involved in the engineering or connections process.

That is because gas appliances or infrastructure, when poorly installed or maintained, can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions, or carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning – all of which can be seriously harmful, or even fatal.

In this blog, we explain the various gas industry accreditations that businesses or individuals should look for when searching for a credible Gas Connections or Gas Metering provider for their next gas site works or metering project.All the below accreditations – which SMS is proud to hold as a long-standing industry leader in this field – should be a prerequisite for any gas operator working in the UK utilities sector.

Gas Safe Register

Gas Safe Register logo

What is the Gas Safe Register?
The Gas Safe Register is the only official gas registration body of gas businesses and engineers in the United Kingdom and the organiser of the annual Gas Safety Week.

By law, all gas businesses must be on the Gas Safe Register, which ensures only qualified engineers are licensed to legally work on gas. The Gas Safe Register regularly undertakes monitoring inspections of all businesses on the Gas Safe Register to ensure they are applying gas competence.

SMS and our engineering workforce who work on gas infrastructure across the UK via the smart meter rollout, as well as large-scale gas connections for commercial and public sector businesses, are registered on the Gas Safe Register and our works regularly audited for compliance. Read about our support for Gas Safety Week.

MAMCoP

MAMCop logo

What is MAMCoP?
The Code of Practice for Gas Meter Asset Managers (MAMCoP), which is administered by Ofgem and advised by an industry expert group, applies to organisations undertaking the management of primary meter installations connected to the network in Great Britain.

MAMCoP sets out the requirements for Meter Asset Managers (MAM) who are responsible for the design, installation, commissioning, maintenance, removal and disposal of gas supply meters. The UK’s gas suppliers and gas transporters are obliged by law to use accredited MAMs, and an independent Registration Agent assesses MAMs’ compliance for accreditation to be awarded and retained.

SMS is proud to be an accredited Gas MAM, working with the UK’s utility sector’s leading energy suppliers on gas metering work for both domestic and commercial consumers.

Gas Industry Registration Scheme (GIRS)

Image showing the Gas Industry Registration Scheme logo

What is the Gas Industry Registration Scheme (GIRS)?
GIRS is operated by Lloyd’s Register on behalf of UK Gas Transporters.

GIRS registered providers are able to undertake the design and delivery of new gas connections, service alterations or disconnections. It means that for any business or individual looking for this type of work to be carried out at their premises or site, then they should only contract with a GIRS accredited provider, like SMS.

ASPCoP

ASPCo logo

What is ASPCoP?
Whilst this accreditation is less to do with gas safety compliance, it is nonetheless a pre-requisite for businesses like SMS who provide management of gas data.

As utilities become more expensive and carbon emissions are required to be minimised, there is an increasing requirement to manage consumption more effectively. Fortunately, ever advancing IT has allowed the development of low cost, automatic meter reading (AMR) systems – such as SMS’s ADM™ data logger device – which, through the ability to monitor consumption continuously, provide a key tool to facilitate accurate and timely billing and energy management.

ASPCoP, therefore, is a Code of Practice that has been created to define the operations, standards and methods by which metered gas consumption data is read and supplied to end-consumers and energy suppliers. By helping business customers reduce their CO2 emissions through the reduction of gas consumption, ASPCoP registered providers are therefore playing a vital part in the UK’s net-zero carbon target and helping safeguard the future health of our planet.