Residents of the United Kingdom have grown to recognize the Corgi certificate as a sort of "certificate of approval" for gas plumbers and now that certification is going to change hands. A few months from now the gas certifications will be issued to gas plumbers and monitored by a company called Capita and Corgi will no longer be involved in the process.



Corgi has been in charge of gas plumbers' certifications for almost twenty years and has spent that time making sure that homes using natural gas have been up to code. As of April of 2009 the Corgi Company will step down as the official protocol company for gas safety and the Health and Safety Executive office's torch will officially be passed to Capita.

For the most part, the day to day operations of the gas plumbing industry will remain much as they were before the switch in regimes. Both companies stress that operations for Corgi employees will continue to operate on a "business as usual" basis until the end of business on March 31st. As of April 1, 2009, Capita will be in charge. As of yet there is no word as to how the transition will take place or what the affects will be for natural gas consumers. Both companies are working very hard to ensure that there are no major hiccups in operations.

Consumers should not worry about whether or not they will remain protected after Corgi Company stops its control and Capita begins taking charge. The Health and Safety Executive office has made it very clear that the reason Capita is taking over for Corgi in 2009 is that Capita showed that it had more initiative for making sure natural gas consumers were well educated about the dangers involved with natural gas consumption.

Corgi's contract went up for bid after a 2006 survey of homeowners in the United Kingdom proved that more than fifty percent of the homes serviced by Corgi professionals were unaware of the dangers posed by carbon monoxide. Natural gas customers will find a number of benefits involved with Capita taking over for Corgi, especially in terms of natural gas education.

Corgi will be responsible for gas regulations and certifications and the regulations for both will not change until March 31st 2009. Capita will step in on April 1st 2009 and be in charge of the United Kingdom's natural gas plumbers and inspectors.

Capita is expected to hire 250 Corgi employees to ensure that the change is smooth, but both companies agreed that rather than a murky transition season, the change would involve definitive dates of operation in place. After April 1st, gas plumbers will need to comply with regulations set forth by Capita Company. The change for Consumers is expected to be minimal.