Cadent is the UK’s largest gas distribution network. It covers London, the North West, the West Midlands, and the East of England, and it owns the gas mains under roughly 11 million properties. If you need a new gas connection in any of those areas, Cadent is one of your routes to market, but it is not the only one.
This guide explains the Cadent new connection process, what the contestable work is, and when using a Utility Infrastructure Provider (UIP) makes more sense than going direct.
What Cadent Does and Does Not Do
Cadent owns and maintains the gas distribution network (the mains and pressure reduction stations). It is responsible for the safety and integrity of the network, and it ultimately decides who can connect to it, under what load, at what pressure, and where.
What Cadent does not have to do exclusively is the physical work of designing and installing the service pipe from the main to your meter. That portion of the job is contestable, meaning any suitably accredited provider can compete for it.
This distinction matters. When you approach Cadent directly, they can quote for and deliver the whole job, but they will sub-contract most of the civil works anyway. When you approach a UIP, the UIP carries out the contestable work and coordinates the non-contestable portion with Cadent on your behalf. On commercial and housing development work, the UIP route is often faster and more competitive.
The Cadent Direct Route
The direct route starts with an enquiry through Cadent’s online portal. You supply the site address, meter position, load, and completion date, and Cadent issues a quote.
Once accepted, Cadent designs the service, arranges traffic management and highway authority approvals, lays the service pipe, reinstates the road or pavement, and arranges meter fit through a metering agent.
Typical timelines are six to twenty weeks from enquiry to live meter, depending on size and complexity. Smaller domestic jobs often complete faster. Larger commercial jobs with main extensions take longer.
The UIP Route
The UIP route starts with a quote from an accredited provider. The UIP produces the design, submits it to Cadent for non-contestable approval, obtains highway authority notices, carries out the civil works, and coordinates the tie-in to the Cadent main. The UIP then arranges meter fit, either through Cadent’s metering agent or through a registered independent meter operator.
The timeline advantage comes from running more steps in parallel rather than sequentially. A good UIP will have a design team, a civil works team, and an approvals team working concurrently rather than in a chain.
The pricing advantage comes from competition on the contestable portion. UIPs price the civils element on a commercial basis and often come in at a lower total cost, particularly on commercial and industrial gas connections with more complex civils.
What Parts Are Contestable
The contestable portion of a Cadent new connection includes design of the service and any main extension, civil works (excavation, reinstatement), pressure testing, and installation of the service pipe.
The non-contestable portion includes the tie-in to the existing Cadent main, network capacity allocation, pressure regime decisions, and final commissioning of the tie-in.
Any accredited UIP can handle the contestable work. Only Cadent (or its directly appointed agents) can handle the non-contestable work.
How to Prepare
Before approaching either Cadent or a UIP, get three pieces of information locked down.
First, the meter position. Mark it on a site plan with dimensions from two fixed points.
Second, the load. A commercial load figure should be in m3/hr for gas supply purposes. Work from appliance rated inputs.
Third, the timing. When do you need a live meter? Your required date drives the conversation about lead times and cost tradeoffs.
What to Expect on Site
Whichever route you choose, the on-site experience is broadly similar. Traffic management is deployed. A trench is excavated. A polyethylene service pipe is laid from the main to the meter position. The pipe is pressure-tested. The tie-in to the existing main is made under Cadent supervision. The trench is reinstated. A meter is fitted.
For a standard domestic connection, this is typically a two-to-three day job on site. For a commercial connection, it runs one to four weeks depending on distance and ground conditions.
Choosing Between the Two Routes
Go direct to Cadent if the job is genuinely straightforward (domestic, existing main directly outside the property, standard meter) and programme is not critical.
Use a UIP if the job is commercial, involves a main extension, has complex civils, needs to fit tightly into a construction programme, or if you want competitive pricing and a single point of contact for the whole job.
On housing developments, UIPs are almost always the better route because the design, civils, and plot-by-plot meter fits need tight coordination with the build programme. Going direct to Cadent on a 200-plot site is slower and more expensive than using a UIP who lives and breathes that scale of work.
The Bottom Line
Cadent is not a monopoly on new gas connections. It is a monopoly on the gas main, which is a different thing. The contestable portion of the work is a genuine market, and the right choice depends on your project’s size, complexity, and programme. For anything beyond a straightforward domestic job, it is worth getting a UIP quote alongside the Cadent quote and comparing them on price, lead time, and what is included. Understanding when to choose an IGT over a GDN is also worth doing before committing to either route.