The north of England’s gas distributor, Northern Gas Networks (NGN), is celebrating after winning a Gas Industry Award at a ceremony in London on Thursday (14 May).

NGN won the Gas Industry Innovation Award in recognition of its development of the Acoustic Camera in conjunction with Core n Vac technology, a ground-breaking process that is revolutionising the way in which gas leaks are located and repaired.

The Core n Vac technology takes a small, circular ‘core’ from the pavement or road and when combined with the Acoustic Camera, which detects gas leaks, reduces the size and number of holes that need to be dug in the highways and pavement, resulting in faster repair times and minimising disruption for members of the public.

The judges were impressed with the way that NGN cleverly combined a new innovation with existing technology used outside of the gas industry.

Ian Whitehead, regional performance manager, said of the award win: “We are delighted to have won a Gas Industry Award for our ground-breaking use of Acoustic Camera and Core n Vac technology.

“We are the first gas distribution network to bring the two technologies together, helping us to deliver a more efficient and service when repairing gas leaks. It has reduced the time taken to repair gas leaks from days to just hours, minimising disruption to our customers.

“The awards ceremony was a great occasion and winning the Innovation Award made it even better!”

The winners were announced at an event on Thursday 14 May at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane in London.

NGN delivers gas to 2.7 million homes and businesses across the North of England and provides the region’s rapid response service for customers who smell gas at home or work. The company has won 12 national awards for customer experience and employee engagement in the last 12 months.

For more information go to www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk