Safety first

The SUDenergie gas network stretches over 1,150 km, and every year, the maintenance and operations teams inspect these installations on foot, following a multi-year surveillance schedule.

The 1,150 kilometres of the SUDenergie network are divided into three different operating pressure levels: high pressure over approximately 13.5 km, medium pressure over around 330 km, and low pressure over 805 km.

All these installations must be checked, a task entrusted to the network maintenance and operations department, specifically the detection service, which consists of two teams of two people.

While the monitoring of high and medium pressure networks is handled exclusively by SUDenergie teams, the surveillance of the low-pressure network is partly outsourced to two international service providers.

“The remaining kilometres are also checked by our teams. This allows us to carry out a complete inspection through a four-year rotation, based on a programme that specifies which municipalities are targeted each year,” explains Gilles Reuland, Head of Grid Operations and Maintenance.

In the field, employees move on foot for greater efficiency, equipped with natural gas detection devices featuring ultra-sensitive technology.

“These devices can detect even the smallest concentrations and take precise measurements to locate the source of methane emissions,” continues the manager. In the event of a positive reading, the control centre is immediately alerted, and a team is dispatched to the site for verification and, if necessary, repair.

“Our experts respond at the slightest doubt, but the SUDenergie network is virtually leak-proof; we don’t detect much, and when we do, it’s often false alarms,” reassures Gilles Reuland.