Stronger gas odor. GasNet checks pipeline tightness in Czechia before winter

The largest natural gas distributor in the Czech Republic, GasNet, will increase the intensity of the odor added to the natural gas it supplies across its entire service area from Monday, 18 November to Friday, 22 November 2024. This intensified odorization is carried out every year before the start of the main heating season, when gas consumption is at its highest. This year, odorization will take place across Bohemia and Moravia at the same time. The significantly stronger smell of natural gas will test the quality of gas pipelines and allow customers to detect even minor leaks in household pipework or gas appliances.

“The safety and reliability of natural gas supplies are our top priority. Regular autumn gas odorization is one of the basic preventive measures for the safe distribution of natural gas. The stronger smell during intensified odorization will test the tightness of gas pipelines and can alert us to even the smallest faults,” says Petr Koutný, Chief Operating Officer of the GasNet Group.

Odorization: a key pillar of safe supplies

Natural gas is odorless in its natural state. That is why a strongly smelling substance known as an odorant is added to it at special facilities called odorization stations. “At the GasNet Group, we maintain around a hundred of these stations. We odorize natural gas at them throughout the year. As part of this autumn campaign, however, we will temporarily double the amount of odorant, ensuring a reliable check of our system before the heating season,” says Petr Koutný.

Suspect a gas leak? Call the 24/7 emergency hotline on 1239

If people smell the typical sulfur-like odor of odorized gas during this period, they should immediately call the gas emergency service, available around the clock, on 1239. They should give the dispatcher their name, address and any landmarks that will help GasNet Group emergency workers reach the site of the suspected fault as quickly as possible. The aim of the campaign is to find and fix even the smallest leaks. It is preventive in nature and does not interrupt or restrict the supply of natural gas to customers.

Owners are responsible for internal gas pipework and appliances

The GasNet Group’s pipelines and other gas infrastructure are inspected regularly throughout the year, and the distributor guarantees their reliability. This gas infrastructure ends at the service pipe, before the main gas shut-off valve.

The owner of the equipment, usually the property owner, is responsible for the safe operation of internal gas pipework in houses or apartments, and of appliances downstream of the main shut-off valve, such as cookers and gas boilers.

“Gas pipework inside buildings downstream of the main gas shut-off valve, as well as gas appliances, need to be inspected regularly. Their owners are fully responsible for ensuring they are in working order and safe. As a preventive measure, we recommend having internal pipework and gas appliances inspected at least once a year,” says Petr Koutný of GasNet.