Metering news - September 2023

Welcome to the September edition of our newsletter.

National Gas Metering will develop hydrogen demonstrator and test facilities, including a commercial kitchen at Tysley Energy Park, Birmingham.

We can now announce that we have signed a lease and agreement with Tyseley Energy Park (TEP) one of Europe’s most ambitious and growing energy parks based in East Birmingham.

The agreement with TEP includes provision for local office space and space within the industrial building previously used by the manufacturing business where we will develop a hydrogen demonstrator and test facilities. The facilities will enable us to build and showcase our hydrogen competencies and develop world-leading customer-focused products that will support consumer net zero ambitions.

TEP was born out of Webster and Horsfall’s 300-year-old manufacturing business and continues the theme of industrial innovation and seeks to create new systems and collaborative working opportunities that ensure Birmingham is the epicenter of the new green industrial revolution.

The University of Birmingham has created a sustainable energy research and innovation centre at TEP that promotes innovation in waste, energy and low-carbon vehicle systems across the West Midlands. The park itself houses a 10 MW biomass power plant, produces green power (10.4MWe) from waste wood, houses the UKs first low and zero-carbon refuelling station which supplies public and commercial vehicles with a range of low-carbon fuels, including the largest green hydrogen refuelling station in the UK (Motive Fuels). This along with a research and development space that supports business growth amongst low-carbon energy businesses.

Chris Wood, Hydrogen and Innovation lead for National Gas Metering says ‘This agreement provides a space which we can develop the next generation of metering products which will enable hydrogen to be used safely and in support of our customers and consumer’s needs. We have some exciting and innovative plans at the energy park which we will showcase over the coming months. We’re incredibly excited by the range of possibilities and TEP is the right place for us with a fantastic team and range of innovative projects and businesses which we can collaborate to enhance our offering’.

David Horsfall Director of Property and Sustainability at Tyseley Energy Park said ‘We are delighted to welcome National Gas Metering to TEP. Our mission is to work with world-class partners to find solutions that will underpin the transition to a low or zero-carbon future. National Gas Metering bring a team of innovators that will be delivering a first-of-a-kind hydrogen kitchen that builds on a cluster of hydrogen-related activity already underway across the TEP. We believe that the work NGM are doing will positively contribute to businesses and the citizens of Birmingham whilst reducing CO2 emissions.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast – learnings from Peter Drucker

We have all heard the term VUCA to describe the worlds in which we operate. VUCA means volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. I’m sure we can all identify with this over the recent years.

Throughout this within National Gas Metering we have focused on building a stable, strong, and positive culture from which we can navigate this complexity. We want a business in which our people feel happy, motivated, and connected with our purpose and strategic priorities.

In our latest independent culture survey, our people have told us that we have a strong caring culture, we feel like a big family and people help and support one another, unified by mutual trust and loyalty. Our feedback also tells us that we are results-orientated, we are driven to achieve great things and we place a high value on success and capability. We also have a strong sense of purpose; we are concerned for the long-term well-being of our world, and we value balance. This feedback follows our recent high rankings with Great Place to Work.

Max Long, Director of National Gas Metering says: "This is really important to us as a business and one of our strategic aims is to deliver sustainable value for our customers and the communities we serve. Our people enable this 365 days a year, so creating the best possible environment for our people leads to the best possible outcomes for our customers and communities, in fact we see a close correlation between the experiences of our people and the experiences of our customers, so we will continue to focus on our culture and the opportunities to continually improve, innovate and stay relevant in our VUCA world.

Whilst Peter Drucker, legendary management consultant, wasn’t downplaying the importance of businesses having robust strategies he was suggesting that powerful and empowering cultures are a route to success – and that’s an ethos we wholeheartedly support.”

Getting to know our Engineers

Damon is a Senior Integrity Engineer within the service delivery team. He completes a variety of asset integrity activities through collaborating with NGM’s service partners and the network, to ensure the safety and reliability of our assets across all pressure tiers in the North of England.

Damon began his career in the gas industry in 2006 when he began domestic Gas training with a plumbing and heating company based in South Yorkshire. His metering career started in 2008, when he began work on domestic policy exchange, warrants and later industrial and commercial.

As he progressed in the Industrial and Commercial sector, an opportunity arose to train as a high-pressure Gas Technician, working on private transmission equipment supplying CHP’s, Chemical plants, Power Generation and heavy industries. Carrying out testing, purging, maintenance, overhauls and cathodic protection to name a few. He also worked on district governors on behalf of IGT’s.

Damon gained experience as a lead technician and progressed into supervisory and managerial roles in operations and maintenance, before joining NGM in 2020. Whilst at NGM Damon has completed multiple exchanges and upgrade of our assets alongside completing NEBOSH and IAM (institute of asset Management) through CPD.

Damon says about his role: “NGM are at the forefront of new ways of working and have innovatively trialed a 9-day fortnight over the past 6 months. They provide a place of work where people can be themselves and there are opportunities for individuals to progress personally, academically, and professionally. In my role at NGM, no two days are the same. I work as part of a proactive team collectively covering all parts of the UK and I look forward to playing our part in the future of gas.”

Ensuring we are prepared for winter

On the 14th September, we held our annual winter preparedness event.

This was an opportunity for us to share actions taken to prepare for winter and lessons learnt from the previous year and for our partners to walk us through their winter plans, providing confidence in our ability to deliver for our customers over the winter months.

Winter can be a very challenging time for customer operations so to have a full insight into winter planning is essential.

The event covered:

• Safety management with a focus on slip trips and falls.
• Attention on appointment keeping to ensure we deliver for our customers.
• Keeping our vulnerable customers safe.
• Jeopardy management and escalation procedures.
• Increased levels of communication both internally and externally.
• Sharing of best practice as we go through winter.

The event was a great success and we received positive feedback from all those involved.

Gas safety week – recognising the importance of having a carbon monoxide meter

In recognition of Gas Safety Week, we shone a spotlight on the dangers of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a highly poisonous gas produced by the incomplete burning of any carbon fuel such as natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This can happen when a gas appliance has been incorrectly fitted, badly repaired or poorly maintained.

CO can also build up if flues, chimneys or vents are blocked. Solid fuels, such as coal, wood, petrol, as well as oil, can also produce carbon monoxide when they burn.

CO can be deadly and is especially dangerous because you can’t see, taste or smell it.

Any of the following could be a sign of CO in your home:

• Floppy yellow or orange flame on your gas hob or oven, rather than a crisp blue flame
• Dark, sooty staining on or around gas appliances
• Pilot lights that frequently blow out
• Increased condensation inside windows

Don’t delay - get fresh air immediately.

Open doors and windows, turn off gas appliances and leave the house.

See your doctor immediately or go to the hospital. They can do a blood or breath test to check and can advise if you need treatment for CO poisoning.

If you think there is an immediate danger, call the Gas Emergency Helpline on?0800 111 999?

Join us at Construction Week

We will be exhibiting at UK Construction Week, held at Birmingham's NEC on 3 - 5 October. You will find us talking about metering, hydrogen, gas connections and infrastructure in the Infrastructure Zone. We look forward to seeing you there.

You can find more information about the event here.

Major Energy Users Council Exhibition takes place on 5th October in Coventry

In a busy month for events, you will also find us exhibiting at the Major Users Energy Council Conference and Exhibition in Ansty Park, Coventry on 5th October. This promises to be a flagship event for the energy sector and we recommend booking your place if you haven't already. You can book your place here.

That's it for our round-up of our September news, if you would like to find out more about our products and services, you can visit our website here.