How do I reset the emergency control valve on my gas meter?

That is the mechanical answer. The safety answer is more conditional: the valve can be operated by the householder, but after a gas escape the supply is not restored until the person reporting it has been told it is safe to do so², and there are situations, above all a meter in a cellar or basement, where the valve is not approached at all³. This page sets out where the valve sits, when it is used, how it moves, and who to call.

What the valve is, and where to find it

The emergency control valve is the point at which gas to your property can be isolated. It is located before the meter, and it is usually a red plastic or metallic handle which isolates the supply of gas to the meter and everything beyond it⁴. Open your gas meter box and look for the red tap handle near the pipe: that is the ECV².

Where the meter box itself sits varies by home. The valve is normally found inside a meter box or inside the house⁶, and on many properties it is in a box on an outside wall¹. Operating instructions should be posted close by the valve⁷, so if you are reading this before any emergency, it is worth finding your meter now and checking that the handle moves and that any label is legible. Knowing where the meter is matters because it is where you will turn off the supply if advised to do so, or in a gas emergency⁸.

Not every home has the traditional lever. An EasyAssist ECV is a small device designed to help those who would struggle to hold and turn a conventional handle, isolating the gas supply at the push of a button⁹. If someone in the household has limited grip or strength, it is worth asking the network about this option.

Switching off your supply at the gas meter

The clear case is a suspected gas escape. In a gas supply emergency you need to immediately and safely turn off any equipment or appliances that use gas¹⁰, and the emergency advice is to open doors and windows, turn off the gas at the meter if it is safe to do so, not to smoke or use a naked flame, not to touch electrical switches, and to leave the property and call from outside¹¹. The full procedure is on our page on reporting a gas emergency.

There are also non-emergency situations where the valve is used. If there is no label on the handle, the winter readiness advice is to turn the emergency control handle through 90 degrees to close the valve¹². When a flood or other event forces an evacuation on the advice of an authorised agency, the gas may be turned off at the emergency control handle if it is safe and the person is able to¹², though one network notes there is no safety reason to turn off the supply before vacating a property unless preferred or advised¹³. The flood advice is explicit that this is not attempted if the meter is under water or in a cellar¹⁴.

Operating and resetting the emergency control valve

The movement itself is simple. You give the handle a quarter turn so that it is at a right angle to the gas pipe¹⁵. The handle will be aligned with the pipe when the gas is on; to switch off the supply you turn it either 90 degrees to the left or 90 degrees to the right, a quarter turn clockwise or anti-clockwise². The same guidance in plainer terms: turn the lever so it is at 90 degrees to the gas pipe, closing the valve¹⁶.

To reset it, that is, to reopen the supply, you turn the handle back the same quarter turn until it lies in line with the pipe again. The mains tap is located near the gas meter, and turning the handle 90 degrees shuts off the supply¹⁷.

The limit on resetting is important. After an emergency turn-off, do not turn the supply back on until you have been advised it is safe to do so². After a wider loss of supply, customers should not attempt to turn their gas back on themselves, for safety reasons: engineers visit each affected property to restore the supply and perform safety checks first¹⁸. If you are not confident about turning the supply off at all, contact the network immediately to arrange for an engineer to do it safely¹⁹.

Cellar and basement meters: the exception

The standard emergency procedure, step by step, is to open all your windows and doors to ventilate the property, then, if possible, switch off the gas at the meter using the emergency control valve, unless the meter is in the cellar or basement³. That exception is repeated across the networks' advice: turn off gas at the meter unless the meter is in a cellar⁸.

The reason is that gas, being heavier than air in the form that collects in enclosed spaces, pools at low level. If the meter control is in the cellar or basement and the smell of gas comes from there, do not go down the stairs, as you could quickly be overwhelmed²⁰. The emergency do-not list is blunt on the point: do not smoke or use naked flames, do not touch any electrical switches, and do not enter a cellar, even if your gas meter is located in the cellar²¹. The flood advice carries the same rule for a different reason: do not switch off the gas supply if the meter is under water or in the cellar, unless there is already a gas leak¹⁴.

In these cases the answer is to leave the property and call the emergency number from outside. The engineer who attends will make the situation safe.

Contacting the right people and the steps that follow

The National Gas Emergency Service number is 0800 111 999⁵. It is free and available around the clock. When you call, you will speak to a trained advisor who will talk you through the steps you need to take, and who will arrange for an emergency engineer to carry out a full safety check, make the situation safe and provide safety advice²².

Two boundaries on that number are worth knowing. It exists for a gas emergency, a smell of gas, low gas pressure or suspected carbon monoxide; it cannot help with boiler or appliance issues, which are a matter for a Gas Safe registered engineer²³. And if you are unsure about turning the gas off yourself, the network can arrange an engineer to do it¹⁹. Our page on who to call for an energy problem lists the numbers for every other situation.

The valve's place in the wider network

The ECV is also a legal and operational boundary. The gas network is responsible for the supply up to the emergency control valve, which is located before your gas meter²⁴. Everything on your side of it, the meter and the pipework and appliances beyond, is the property's own.

That boundary shows up when a supply is disconnected. When a meter is removed, the supplier arranges for the gas pipe to be sealed, known as capped, at the emergency control valve⁶, and the pipe to the property may remain in place, capped at the ECV²⁵. It also limits what a Gas Safe registered engineer may do: they are not allowed to install new gas services or carry out alterations to the gas service before the ECV, nor to extend pipework to additional ECVs from an existing one, nor to disconnect a service pipe at the gas main outside the property. Work on the network side belongs to the network, not to the engineer a householder hires.

For a household thinking about energy independence, the ECV is the single point at which a gas connection can be closed off, whether for an emergency, an evacuation or a permanent move away from gas. Knowing where yours is, and being able to reach it without going underground, is the practical part of that control.