If you smell gas
Call 0800 002 001
The free Northern Ireland Gas Emergency Service, 24 hours a day, every day. Leave the building, open doors and windows, do not switch anything electrical on or off, and call from outside. The line covers the Phoenix network and every other NI gas network.
Phoenix Energy at a glance
Network area
Greater Belfast, Lisburn, Larne, East Down
Properties gas is available to
over 350,000
Properties connected
over 250,000
Gas emergency line
0800 002 001 (24h)
Owner
CK Group consortium (since 2024)
Gas suppliers on this network
firmus energy, SSE Airtricity
Sources: Phoenix Energy and the Utility Regulator.
What Phoenix Energy does, and what it does not
People often assume the company on their gas bill owns the pipes. It does not. Phoenix Energy owns the network; a separate supplier sells you the gas. Here is the clean split.
Phoenix Energy DOES
- +Own the gas mains and service pipes across Greater Belfast, Lisburn, Larne and East Down;
- +Build and maintain the network and extend it to new streets;
- +Connect new homes and businesses to the gas network;
- +Respond to the network side of a reported gas escape.
Phoenix Energy does NOT
- −Produce or import the gas itself;
- −Sell gas to you or send your bill (your supplier does);
- −Set or control your gas tariff;
- −Choose your supplier for you (you pick firmus energy or SSE Airtricity).
Where Phoenix Energy owns the gas pipes
Phoenix runs the largest of Northern Ireland's three gas networks, covering roughly the eastern, most densely populated part of the region. If you live in one of these areas, the gas pipe to your meter belongs to Phoenix.
Greater Belfast
The city and surrounding suburbs
Lisburn
And the wider Lisburn area
Larne
On the County Antrim coast
East Down
Eastern parts of County Down
Outside these areas? Your gas pipes may belong to firmus energy (Ten Towns) or SGN Natural Gas (the west), or there may be no gas network at all.
Phoenix Energy or your supplier: who handles what
Calling the wrong one wastes time. The network and the supplier handle completely different things.
| If your issue is... | Phoenix Energy / emergency line | Your gas supplier |
|---|---|---|
| You smell gas or suspect a leak | Yes, 0800 002 001 | No |
| New gas connection | Yes (Phoenix) | No |
| Faulty meter or keypad top-up | No | Yes |
| Switch supplier or tariff | No | Yes |
| Bill, payment or direct debit | No | Yes |
How Phoenix Energy is paid, and why it cannot overcharge
Phoenix is a monopoly: there is no second set of gas pipes you could choose instead. To stop a monopoly charging whatever it likes, the Utility Regulator caps how much Phoenix can collect for use of its network. That network charge is bundled into your gas bill and collected by your supplier.
The insider point most guides miss
Northern Ireland's gas network is unusually young. Phoenix only began connecting homes in 1996, so the cost of building the pipes is still being recovered. That is why the network charge per home can be a meaningful slice of a Greater Belfast gas bill: you are partly paying off a network that, in Great Britain, was largely built and paid for decades ago. It also explains why gas is not available in much of Northern Ireland. Where there is no Phoenix, firmus or SGN main in the street, there is simply no gas option, and homes rely on other fuels. Knowing this reframes the real question from "which gas supplier is cheapest" to "is my street even on the gas network, and is it worth connecting".
Phoenix Energy: the Selectra expert answers your questions
Leave the building, open doors and windows, do not touch any electrical switches, and call the Northern Ireland Gas Emergency Service on 0800 002 001 from outside. It is free, 24 hours a day, every day, and covers every NI gas network. Do not call your gas supplier for a leak: the emergency service handles it whoever you buy gas from.
Phoenix Energy owns, builds and maintains the gas distribution network (the pipes, mains and service connections) across Greater Belfast, Lisburn, Larne and East Down, and connects new properties to it. It does not produce gas, does not sell it to you, and does not set your tariff. Those are the job of your gas supplier.
No. Phoenix Energy owns the pipes; a separate company supplies the gas and bills you. On the Phoenix network in Greater Belfast you can choose between two gas suppliers, firmus energy and SSE Airtricity. You cannot choose your network: Phoenix owns the pipes for the whole Greater Belfast area.
Phoenix Energy is owned by a consortium of companies in the CK Group, which acquired the business in 2024. It is regulated under licence by the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (the Utility Regulator), which controls how much it can charge for use of its network.
You apply to Phoenix Energy, the network owner, to connect a property to the gas network, provided there is a gas main in your street. Phoenix lays the connection up to your property. You then choose a gas supplier (firmus energy or SSE Airtricity) to actually provide the gas and bill you.