Gas fun in the pipeline for Birmingham

• Free gas fun roadshow outside the Rotunda in the Bullring shopping centre, Birmingham, on Monday 29 July
• Residents invited to have their say and the chance to win £500 in Amazon vouchers; games and prizes for kids and grown-ups of all ages
• Three in every four homes in Birmingham are heated by gas

Ever wondered how gas gets to your home? Or how the money you pay on your gas bill is spent? Now’s your chance to find out at a free gas fun roadshow in Birmingham on Monday 29 July.

Local gas network Cadent is urging residents to drop in and bring the kids for some free, fun educational activities that will keep the youngsters entertained and the grown-ups informed about how gas gets to their door. The event will give residents the chance to have their say over the sorts of services Cadent should offer and how much people should pay for them.

The gas roadshow will be parking up in the Bullring shopping centre, near the Rotunda, on Monday 29 July from 10am until 5pm. Birmingham is the fourth stop for the roadshow, as it visits five cities in Cadent's footprint before the end of July.

Kate Jones, Director of Cadent’s West Midlands Network, said: The roadshow is a fun way of explaining what we do now and getting people’s views on our plans for the next five years how, in a sustainable way, we heat your home, provide fuel for various modes of transport and help power industry.

We’ve drafted some proposals but before anything is set in stone we’d like people’s opinions on the services we provide, how we do things and where we invest the money we receive from bill-payers.

If you can’t come along on Monday, you can still have your say by filling in our online survey - https://cadentgas.com/about-us/responsibility/have-your-say - with the chance to win £500 in Amazon vouchers.

Monday's event will include gas-themed games and prizes for all ages, including connect-the-pipe, gas pipe hoopla and spin-to-win. Console game fans will be able to try their hands at digital underground tunnelling and experience the world of Cadent’s gas engineers through a virtual reality headset.

Meanwhile younger ones can have a go at remote-controlled car racing and dress up in hard hats and hi-viz jackets. And while the kids play, mum and dad (and grandma and grandad) can have their say on issues such as:

• how Cadent could best minimize disruption from roadworks
• what sort of services they would like to see the company provide
• how much they’d like to pay on their gas bills
• how they think the company could best tackle climate change and protect the environment
• how Cadent should help gas customers most in need

Birmingham gas facts

• On an average gas bill £120 about 33p a day goes on the cost of running, maintaining and renewing the nation’s underground gas pipe network. In addition, Cadent also runs a gas emergency service, responding to calls about gas leaks and carbon monoxide leaks and provides extra services for customers in vulnerable situations such as elderly people and those with disabilities. The company is also investing in trials of carbon-free hydrogen which could transform the way people heat their homes.
• 77% of homes in Birmingham are heated by gas.
• During 2019-2020, Cadent is investing around £50 million in upgrading some 285 kilometres of ageing gas mains across the West Midlands region.
• The cost of running the gas network has fallen by 17% since 1990 on gas bills. Cadent’s element of people’s gas bills is due to fall by a further 11% by 2021.