FortisBC-Owns-Up-To-The-Meter-Owner-Owns-Past-It (Home Systems)

FortisBC Owns Up To the Meter — Owner Owns Past It

idea

Claim: in BC, FortisBC owns and maintains the gas service connection from the distribution main in the street up to and including the gas meter. The owner (or in a strata, the owner or strata corporation depending on the piping’s location) owns all gas piping from the meter outlet onward — every run, branch, and connection through the home to each appliance.

Mechanism

The ownership boundary is the gas meter outlet:

• FortisBC’s responsibility:

  • The distribution main in the street
  • The service connection (the underground line from the main to the meter)
  • The meter itself, including its connections and any regulator
  • Any FortisBC-installed above-ground service equipment

• Owner’s responsibility:

  • All piping from the meter outlet to the first appliance shut-off
  • All in-home branches and risers
  • All flexible appliance connectors
  • All sediment traps (drip legs) at appliance inlets
  • Any underground line from the meter to a detached structure, pool, outdoor appliance, or BBQ on the owner’s property

In a strata, the strata corporation is responsible for the building’s gas distribution piping (mains, risers, common-area runs) as common property under SPA s.72. Individual owners are responsible for the piping within their strata lot and the branch connections to their appliances.

Why this matters for emergency response:

• If a leak is on FortisBC’s side of the meter → FortisBC dispatches at no charge; call 1-800-663-9911.
• If a leak is on the owner’s side of the meter → FortisBC will still respond and make safe, but the repair is the owner’s cost (via a licensed gas fitter, permitted work).
• FortisBC dispatches for any reported gas smell — you do not need to diagnose which side of the meter a leak is on before calling.

Before digging anywhere on the property, call BC One Call (1-800-474-6886) to locate all buried utilities, including FortisBC’s underground service line. Damaging a buried gas line is an emergency.

Scope

Does NOT cover:

• Gas appliance responsibility (appliances are owner-scope; the gas fitter who services them is owner-arranged)
• The meter shutoff procedure (see gas-meter-shutoff (Home Systems))
• Which contractor to call for owner-side repairs (see vendor-roster (Home Systems))

Idea Compass

North: Where this comes from

• gas-lines (Home Systems) — the component where this ownership split is load-bearing
• FortisBC service terms and general terms and conditions — the contractual basis for the ownership split

East: Tensions / failure

• The common assumption that “FortisBC’s pipe = FortisBC’s repair” — only true up to the meter; past it, the owner pays
• Underground runs on the owner’s property to outbuildings or BBQs — often forgotten as owner-scope

South: Where this leads

• gas-meter-shutoff (Home Systems) — the meter (FortisBC’s) has a shutoff the owner should know how to locate
• vendor-roster (Home Systems) — the licensed gas fitter for owner-side repairs

West: What’s similar

• electrical-panel (Home Systems) — BC Hydro owns up to and including the meter base and service entrance; owner owns from the main breaker outward — exactly the same split
• Water service line: the municipality owns the water main and curb stop; the owner owns the service line from the curb stop to the home

Sources