SaskEnergy responds to suspected Natual Gas Leak in Leader

SaskEnergy and its contractors have been working around the clock in the Town of Leader to lcate a potential natural gas leak, which was suspected to be the source of a localized odour in the community.

Since first receiving an outside odour call late in the afternoon of January 27th, SaskEnergy has swept the area of concern six times and found no natural gas leaks. In addition, the Corporation brought in a third-party leak survey specialist contractor with the most sensitive gas detection equipment available. Overnight from January 28th to 29th, the contractor surveyed every street and alley in the town, the survey results also indicated no leaks. SaskEnergy crews also did extensive work on various locations along its infrastructure - both above ground and buried - finding no leaks.

SaskEnergy adds a safety odourant to its distribution system across the province called mercaptan. This odourant produces the “rotten egg” smell associated with natural gas, which is itself odourless. This was initially believed to be the odour reported in Leader. Occasionally, SaskEnergy responds to odour calls which turn out to be caused by other sources such as sewage/lagoon or old oil or gasoline storage containers.

While the source of the odour remains unknown, SaskEnergy can confirm there are no natural gas leaks in the Town of Leader, and there is no public safety concern at this time. As an additional safety precaution, SaskEnergy has scheduled the third-party specialist to return to this community in February to conduct another leak survey, and has made arrangements to have additional SaskEnergy staff readily available over the near term for emergency response in the area, should the need arise.

SaskEnergy would like to thank the Town of Leader, residents and local First Responders for their patience and assistance during its investigation.

If you think you smell natural gas, please call SaskEnergy’s 24/7 emergency line at 1-888-700-0427.