When would I require a Gas Abolishment? 

Gas is no longer required at the property due to:

a) Abolishment (e.g. meter removal due to renovations, landscaping, or knock down rebuild)
b) Meter disconnection (e.g. gas connection no longer required)

Note: Under the NSW regulatory guidelines, unauthorised persons must not tamper with, remove or abolish gas meters. If a non-authorised person removes a gas meter illegally, it can presenting safety issues to people carrying out future work on that property and to the community generally.

Who can apply?

Abolishments

The abolishment of a service involves the permanent removal of the gas meter and provision of gas services from the property by a Jemena authorised technician. If there is an active account, the customer must apply for the service to be abolished through their retailer. If there is no active retailer for that account, they should apply directly to Jemena through the Gas Portal.

Note: If the customer is a tenant, approval of the property owner is required before abolishment can occur.

Meter Disconnections
Customers who do not want to have the gas permanently removed can submit a request to their energy retailer to have the gas disconnected. Customers typically select this option when they no longer want to use gas, but may in the future.

What's involved?

Abolishments

Once we have your completed application we’ll make you an offer outlining charges and works we’ll perform.

If you accept, we'll do our best to schedule the works on your chosen date. Our standard time frame for abolishments is 20 business days. Please note that this work is weather dependent.

After the request for an abolishment has been approved, Jemena’s technicians will disconnect the gas service at the main (where practicable) or at the kerb, and endeavour to remove the meter from the site (where no access issues exist). The infrastructure between the meter and the main is left in place.  

When the site is abolished, the address (MIRN) is removed from the market system and can no longer be viewed by an Energy Retailer. The customer will be charged for the requested abolishment work, but will incur no further/ongoing charges once the abolishment has been completed. 

If a customer wishes to reconnect to gas in the future, they will need to apply for a new connection, with any applicable charges relating to that new connection being applied.

Meter Disconnections

Jemena’s technicians attend the property and perform work to prevent gas from passing through the meter. The technician places a wad in the meter to prevent the flow of gas, The meter is left on site and the gas service up to the meter remains in place and active. A yellow tag will be applied to the meter (“do not operate”) and a notice left at the property.

Jemena will continue to read and service the meter following a disconnection. It is therefore important that the meter remains accessible at all times to our technicians and meter readers. The site (MIRN) remains active in the market system and the previous retailer remains connected/financially responsible for the site. 

If usage/consumption is detected during a scheduled cyclic reading following disconnection, the account will be re-established and service fees be charged to the retailer.

If arrangements are not made to reconnect supply and at the next meter reading, there is no consumption, the network charges will be waived. While there continues to be no consumption at the premises, network charges will not be incurred.

Once a property has been disconnected, a customer can easily re-establish an account if they decide they would like to use gas again. They approach their retailer of choice, who will raise a request to have the meter turned on and an account established in their name. A Jemena technician will attend the property and reconnect supply. This reconnection will reactivate the account and charges will start to occur.

How much will it cost?

Abolishments

Costs vary based on the meter size. However, the charge for many of our residential meters is $1,617 (incl. GST), as approved by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). We will advise of the final cost to be charged by Jemena upon review of the application.  You may also receive separate charges from your plumber or builder for their work.

Meter Disconnections

The cost for disconnecting the gas service is $157.30 (incl. GST) and if they wish to reconnect, the cost of the reconnection is $126.50 (incl. GST).

Note: Disconnection should not be confused with move outs.

What else do I need to know?

Under the Demolition Work Code of Practice, you’ll need our meter removal confirmation before beginning any demolition works.

Where customers are carrying out major works near the gas service or demolishing the property, an abolishment must be arranged due to the danger of excavating near or around gas services. The meter abolishment must be completed before undertaking any major renovations or excavating works.

We strive to complete an abolishment within 20 business days, however this can be impacted by factors outside of Jemena’s control such as involvement of third parties like Transport NSW or electricity distributors or transmission companies, unfavourable weather such as flooding, or difficult site conditions.

For this reason, to avoid any penalties from their builders/demolishers, customers should not book any demolitions until the abolishment has been completed.

If customers require any further assistance, they can call our Customer Service Team on 1300 137 078.

Who can remove the meter?

Only Jemena can remove your gas meter, please read our Meter Removal Safety Announcement.