There has been a 600% increase in the number of suspected gas leaks that emergency services have been called out to in the last five years.
In 2020, there were just nine reports of gas leaks, according to figures published in response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Law.
Last year, this rose to 63 reports.
And in the first 20 days of 2025 alone, emergency services were called to 14 incidents of suspected gas leaks.
The FOI response did not confirm how many of these incidents were confirmed as gas leaks because Island Energy holds this information.
The utility company is not subject to the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011, but responded to queries from Express about the data.
Island Energy confirmed that it responded to 592 call-outs last year – of which 116 resulted in repairs to the gas network.
The full statement from the utility company said: “In 2024, Island Energy has responded to 592 call outs, which is slightly lower than 2023’s figure of 622.
“345 of these call outs found no trace of gas escapes, and 116 calls resulting in repairs to the gas network. In 2023, we made 73 repairs.
“While not all call outs result in repair work, we are very appreciative of the public using our 24-hour line to report any smells of gas so that we can check and assess each one ourselves.
“We want our network to be as robust and as safe as possible for our customers which is why we are constantly maintaining and upgrading our network.
“In Jersey, our gas network has been surveyed and risk assessed by independent UK gas industry and risk specialists and we have invested more than £4m in the last three years on improvements and upgrades.
“If there is a suspected gas escape, we ask customers to call the Island Energy emergency line immediately on 755555, we will contact the emergency services if appropriate.”
Just over two years have passed since the Pier Road explosion, which claimed the lives of 10 islanders in December 2022.
And initial investigations into an explosion at Mont Pinel last June found that it was “reasonable to conclude” the incident occurred due to the ignition of flammable gas inside a house.
More recently, around 50 flats in St Clement were evacuated last month after a gas leak.
Earlier this month, 21 properties at Le Geyt in St Saviour were evacuated following a mains gas leak nearby.
Residents were offered overnight hotel accommodation before being allowed home the following day.
Last week, the Chief Minister confirmed that the Government plans to seek greater legal powers to deal with utility companies in Jersey.
Deputy Lyndon Farnham said Ministers had held “constructive” talks with Island Energy’s new CEO, Graeme Millar, and had been advised about the company’s plans to accelerate its renewal programme, double the investment in its infrastructure and adopt UK best practice in carrying out disconnections.
The Chief Minister said that there was also monitoring of the network carried out by the Infrastructure Department at more than 1,000 sites, and that plans for legislation would be lodged shortly.
“The Emergencies Council receive regular updates at every meeting, and there is work to update gas legislation giving the Government more powers, including to request information from the gas company,” he said
“We are doing everything within our power to reduce risk.”