A plumbing company from Lara, Victoria, has pleaded guilty to charges brought by Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) relating to the illegal relocation of an AusNet-owned gas meter at a Geelong smallgoods business.

Lara Plumbing Pty Ltd was convicted and issued a $7,500 fine in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 13 October following works carried out in October 2020.

The smallgoods business employed the plumbing company to relocate the meter to cater for the installation of a new refrigerator at the Norlane business.

During the works, Lara Plumbing Pty Ltd isolated the gas supply, disconnected the gas meter and moved it to the new location, extending the internal service pipework to the meter before reconnecting the gas line.

However, under the Gas Safety Act 1997  both the meter and piping were owned by and could only be relocated by gas distributor AusNet.

AusNet discovered the works after one of its service agents had observed that the meter had been moved from its last recorded location.

For more information go to esv.vic.gov.au.