Emergency control valve (ECV)

The valve, usually by the gas meter, that turns off the gas supply to a whole property in an emergency.

The emergency control valve is where the gas supply into a property can be shut off. On many mains installations it sits next to the meter.

If you smell gas, and it is safe and will not slow you down, turning the gas off here is one of the emergency actions, after which you leave and call the gas emergency service from outside. Never go into a cellar to reach it.

Work on the meter or the pipework around it is gas work for a Gas Safe registered engineer or the gas transporter.