Gas leaks and odour

While gas leaks are rare, it’s important for residents and businesses to keep gas safety top of mind so you can act fast and remain safe.

Smell rotten eggs? It could be a gas leak. Act fast!

You can’t see or taste natural gas or Renewable Natural Gas1 but you sure can smell it! And for good reason. We add an odourant called mercaptan2 to the gas in our system, so you can smell it, in the rare event of a leak. You may also hear a hissing sound coming from a gas appliance if there’s a leak. If you smell it, ACT FAST by doing the following:

  1. Stop what you're doing. Don't use your cellphone, don’t smoke, light matches or operate electrical switches or create any other source of ignition.
  2. Go outside. As you exit, leave the door open behind you as well as any windows that may already be open.
  3. Call us. Once outside, call the FortisBC emergency line at 1-800-663-9911 (24 hours) or dial 911.

Mercaptan: the smell of safety

The gas in our system is naturally odourless, so we add trace amounts of a pungent chemical called mercaptan because we want you to smell it if there’s a leak. Mercaptan comes from naturally occurring compounds that have a strong odour even in low concentrations. So if you catch a whiff of something that smells like rotten eggs, it’s a signal to leave the area and call for help.

Keep your appliances maintained and safe

Regular maintenance will keep your gas appliances working efficiently and providing comfort for years.

Appliance maintenance and safety

Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane) is produced in a different manner than conventional natural gas. It is derived from biogas, which is produced from decomposing organic waste from landfills, agricultural waste and wastewater from treatment facilities. The biogas is captured and cleaned to create RNG. When RNG is added to North America’s natural gas system, it mixes with conventional natural gas. This means we’re unable to direct RNG to a specific customer. But the more RNG is added to the gas system, the less conventional natural gas is needed, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels and overall greenhouse gas emissions.

2 Mercaptan is a foul-smelling odorant used in the gas industry so that in the unlikely event of a leak it can be detected. While it has a strong smell, it is harmless as outlined here: Mercaptan, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company - ChemPoint - ChemPoint and Natural gas explained - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).