Gas leaks and odour

While natural gas leaks are extremely rare, it’s important for residents and businesses to keep natural 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 odorant called mercaptan 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.

Want to learn more? Watch the video of Global BC’s tour of our gas odour lab to learn how and why mercaptan gets added to our natural gas.