Ce qui s'est passé

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) published Pathways to SF6 free GB distribution networks on 20 October 2026. The 70-page report was commissioned by DESNZ and written by Ramboll, drawing on engagement with network operators, manufacturers and regulators. It says on its cover that its views are the researchers' and not necessarily the government's, so read it as evidence and advice, not as a new rule.

Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) is the gas used inside much of the switchgear that controls and protects the electricity network. The report estimates 2 to 2.45 kilotonnes of it is held in GB electricity equipment, with leakage typically below 1% of that a year. The worry is growth: as the grid expands, every new SF6 unit locks in a gas that the report says stays in the atmosphere for about 3,200 years.

Its main findings:

  • SF6-free switchgear is ready at some voltages and not others. It is mature and on sale at 11kV and across parts of the 66kV to 132kV range. 33kV is the most constrained, mainly because few products are approved for GB use.
  • GB has no binding phase-out dates. The EU set voltage-by-voltage bans in Regulation (EU) 2024/573, starting with new switchgear up to 24kV from January 2026. The UK kept the older 2014 rules and has not adopted those dates.
  • Cost is not the main barrier for bill payers. Even in the worst case modelled, the equipment premium adds around £0.22 a year to the average customer's bill.

It recommends a GB framework broadly following the EU timetable: SF6 out of new switchgear up to 24kV from 2028, 66kV to 132kV from 2030, 33kV from 2032, and all voltages from 2035, when newly produced SF6 would also stop being used to service existing equipment. The report calls this an indicative timeline, the earliest plausible dates, and says later steps should depend on readiness tests.

Ce que cela signifie pour une petite entreprise

Most small firms take their electricity at low voltage and the switchgear on the street belongs to the network operator, so its leaks are not yours. This matters if your site has its own high-voltage supply: a factory, a large warehouse, a campus or a data centre with its own substation or ring main unit. Gas leaking from equipment you own or control is a Scope 1 fugitive emission, in the same way as refrigerant leaking from air conditioning.

SF6 is the most potent of the seven greenhouse gases the GHG Protocol covers. DESNZ's 2026 factor for it is 23,500 kg CO2e per kg, about 12 times the factor for R410A, the common air conditioning gas. That figure is the IPCC's Fifth Assessment value; the report quotes the newer AR6 value of about 24,300. Our post on AR5 and AR6 values explains which to use: for UK reporting, stick with the DESNZ set.

Un exemple chiffré

An engineer services a site's 11kV switchgear and tops it up with 1 kg of SF6 (an illustrative figure):

  • 1 kg × 23 500 = 23 500 kg CO2e, soit 23,50 tonnes
  • That's about 179,444 kWh of UK grid electricity at the 2026 factor of 0.13096 kg CO2e per kWh.

For a small manufacturer, a single kilogram can be a noticeable share of the year's footprint, so it is worth checking.

Que faire dès maintenant

  1. Find out whether you own HV switchgear. If you take an HV supply, your HV maintenance contractor can tell you what switchgear is on site and whether it contains SF6.
  2. Ask for SF6 top-ups in kilograms. Request the year's service records showing any SF6 added. Under the current rules, switchgear holding 6 kg or more must be leak checked unless it has a pressure or density monitor or a tested leakage rate below 0.1% a year, and records of gas added are required for equipment with leak-check duties. The government's guidance says most medium-voltage switchgear holds less than 5 kg, so there may be no formal log: ask your contractor anyway whether any gas was added during the year.
  3. Ask about SF6-free options at replacement. When switchgear is due for replacement, ask suppliers for SF6-free quotes. The report finds these mature at 11kV, the backbone voltage of the distribution network.
  4. Don't count the full charge. Only gas that escaped counts. Gas recovered by a certified technician when equipment is removed is not an emission.

The report is the latest in a run of network news; see our post on the grid growth plan and what a cleaner grid means for Scope 2.

Comment Carbon Recycling vous aide

SF6 isn't one of the gases in our refrigerant top-up list, but the app's Any DESNZ factor option lets you search the full government set for "SF6", pick the Scope 1 sulphur hexafluoride factor and enter the kilograms your contractor added. It uses the factor for your reporting year, records the result as Scope 1 alongside your fuel, vehicles and other gases, and carries it into your reports. The factors themselves are explained in our 2026 conversion factors guide.