North East gas/electricity networks lag on info says watchdog

Its annual safe digging report Digging up Britain reveals a record-breaking 3.4 million search enquiries passed through its collaborative portal last year – equal to one every every six seconds. 

But MD Richard Broome warned that companies in the North East had been significantly more reluctant to assist in the scheme, with most LSBUD-unregistered gas pipes being located there.

“Networks in the North East are leaving themselves extremely exposed and are putting contractors and the general public in danger,” said Broome.

Richard Broome, Managing Director at LSBUD, comments: “The gas and electricity sectors continue to be the most represented in terms of coverage and protection through our system. It is fantastic to see.

"However, networks in the North East are leaving themselves extremely exposed and are putting contractors and the general public in danger. To complete the protection of the UK’s networks, we’d like to see the final gas and electricity networks start sharing their asset information with us, making the collaborative portal even stronger.