SGN (company)
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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Gas |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Horley, England, UK |
Area served | Scotland and the south of England |
Key people | Mark Wild (CEO) |
| Products | Gas distribution |
| Owners | Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (37.5%) Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (37.5%) Borealis Infrastructure Europe (UK) Limited (ultimately OMERS) (25%)[1] |
Number of employees | 3,816 |
| Website | www |
SGN (previously Scotia Gas Networks) is a British gas distribution company which manages the network that distributes natural and green gas to 5.9 million homes and businesses across Scotland and the south of England.[2] As of 2014/15 SGN operates more than 44,000 miles (71,000 km) of pipes. In the same period, SGN spent £500 million on upgrading the network.[3]
History
The company was formed in 2005 as Scotia Gas Networks. In September 2014 the company was renamed SGN. The rebrand was driven by a desire to present a greater unity between the two distinct geographic areas of its business,[4] namely Scotland and the south of England, where SGN owns and maintains the gas network. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought a 16.7% equity stake in SGN in 2016.[5]
In September 2020, SGN announced that they were working together with global engineering and consultancy company Wood, in order to create a "decarbonisation roadmap" for the north-east and east coast of Scotland.[6]
In March 2021, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan increased their holding from 25% to 37.5%, and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners bought 37.5% while OMERS retained 25%. Both Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and SSE plc exited entirely from part-ownership of SGN.[7]
In December 2021, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) announced that, pending regulatory approval, it had sold its 25% ownership stake in SGN (acquired in 2005) to American private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners. The financial terms of the sale were not disclosed, but the Globe and Mail reported the price was 1.6 billion Canadian dollars.
2014 rebrand
In 2014, Scotia Gas Networks, Scotland Gas Networks and Southern Gas Networks were rebranded to SGN.[8] The company believed the previous names did not represent the business as "bright, forward thinking experts", and that the name SGN would be better for customers to understand what SGN does as a company.
The logo was also changed. From 2005, the logo was red and blue dots forming the shape of the United Kingdom. The red dots covered Scotland and the southern area on the "Scotia Gas Networks" logo, just Scotland for the "Scotland Gas Networks" logo and just the southern area for "Southern Gas Networks".[citation needed] This was to highlight where works are carried out by the company. The new logo is a cylinder made from orange, blue and purple dots.
Funding for innovation
In 2014, SGN was awarded funding from the industry regulator, Ofgem, to develop two projects. "Opening up the Gas Market" is an investigation into whether the British Gas Safety Regulations could be changed to accept different types of gas. "Robotics" is a project to develop technology for repairing steel mains without interrupting the gas.[9]
Thornton Heath gas explosion
A gas explosion in Croydon, London, on 8 August 2022 resulted in the death of a 4-year-old girl, Sahara Salman. Several other local residents were seriously injured.[10] SGN had been notified of the gas leak on 30 July but failed to take any action and ignored further warnings from local residents.[11]
References
- ^ "SGN: Your gas. Our network. Annual-Reports". Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ SGN "About Us"
- ^ "Ofgem RIIO model performance". 5 October 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ "ENA - Gas distribution map". www.energynetworks.org. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "ADIA Acquires Minority Stake in Scotia Gas Networks". Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ "Wood partners with SGN to create "decarbonisation roadmap" in Scotland". Aberdeen Business News. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ "Scotland's gas pipelines sold to Canadian consortium". BBC News. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ "Energy Networks Association: Smarter Networks" (PDF). 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2016.
- ^ "Ofgem Gas Network Innovation Competition".
- ^ Ben Quinn (10 August 2022). "Mother of girl killed in London gas explosion says world has been 'torn apart'". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ Sami Quadri (10 August 2022). "Mother of 'incredible' girl killed in Thornton Heath explosion tells of heartbreak". Evening Standard. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
