The Utilities Act 2000 (Supply of Information) Regulations 2000

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prescribe types of information which the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (“the Authority”), the holder of a gas or electricity licence (“a licence holder”) or the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council (“the Council”) may refuse to supply under section 24 or 26 of the Utilities Act 2000 (“the Act”). They also prescribe circumstances in which the Authority, a licence holder or the Council may refuse to comply with a direction under section 24 or 26 of the Act.

Under section 24 of the Act, the Council may direct the Authority or a licence holder to supply such information as it may require for the purposes of exercising its functions. Under section 26 of the Act, the Authority may direct the Council to supply such information as it may require for the purpose of exercising its functions.

The Authority, a licence holder or the Council may refuse to supply (whether under section 24 or section 26) information the making public of which would be against the interests of national security. The Secretary of State may issue a certificate for this purpose, which will be conclusive either way (subject to a court’s inherent powers to review any decision by the Secretary of State) (Regulation 3).

The Authority or a licence holder may refuse to supply price sensitive information to the Council under section 24. Price sensitive information is defined in the same terms as in Part V of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 which covers the criminal offence of insider dealing (Regulation 4).

The Authority may refuse to supply to the Council under section 24 any information which is subject to a statutory restriction on disclosure and which was disclosed to the Authority by virtue of an exemption to that statutory restriction and any information which it obtained in the exercise of various functions under the Fair Trading Act 1973 and Competition Act 1998, being functions which the Authority exercises concurrently with the Director General of Fair Trading (Regulation 5(1)).

The Authority, a licence holder or the Council may refuse to supply under sections 24 or 26 any information whose disclosure is prohibited under any other enactments or whose disclosure is incompatible with any Community obligation (Regulation 5(2)).

The Authority, a licence holder or the Council may refuse to supply information which is personal data protected by the Data Protection Act 1998, but not where it relates to a person whose complaint is being investigated by the Council in accordance with the Council’s duty to investigate under the Gas Act 1986 or Electricity Act 1989 (Regulation 5(3)).

The Authority, a licence holder or the Council may refuse to supply information whose disclosure would constitute or be punishable as contempt of court; or would prejudice or would be likely to prejudice any criminal proceedings. The Authority or a licence holder may also refuse to supply information which would prejudice or would be likely to prejudice any enforcement action against licence holders such as the making of compliance orders or the imposition of financial penalties. Additionally, a licence holder may refuse to supply information under section 24 of the Act which could not be compelled from him in civil proceedings (Regulation 6).

Before taking a decision or action the Authority, a licence holder or the Council may refuse to supply under section 24 or 26 of the Act any information concerning discussions or deliberations as to that decision or action. Before announcing or publishing a decision or action which has been taken and is to be announced or published, the Authority, a licence holder or the Council may refuse to supply under section 24 or 26 of the Act any information concerning discussions or deliberations as to that decision or action. However, in neither case can a licence holder withhold any such information that is relevant to a complaint being investigated by the Council in accordance with the Council’s duties under section 32 of the Gas Act 1986 or section 46 of the Electricity Act 1989.

The Authority, a licence holder or the Council may refuse to supply information concerning: (i) the views of the Authority or a licence holder on its relationship with the Council or the Council’s performance of its functions or (ii) the views of the Council on its relationship with the Authority or the performance by the Authority of its functions. The Authority may furthermore refuse to supply under section 24 of the Act information obtained from confidential sources for the purposes of any criminal proceedings which the Authority has power to conduct or any enforcement action under the Gas Act 1986 or Electricity Act 1989 (Regulation 7).

A licence holder may refuse to supply information under section 24 of the Act where the cost or other burden of providing that information would be excessive in relation to the likely benefit of the information to the Council (Regulation 8).

A person may refuse to comply with a direction given under section 24 or 26 if he does not hold the information in question. Holding information is defined for these purposes (Regulation 9).

A licence holder cannot by virtue of these Regulations refuse to supply under section 24 of the Act information whose supply the Council has directed in accordance with the Council’s duties under section 33DA of the Gas Act 1986 and section 42AA of the Electricity Act 1989 to publish statistical information relating to performance levels and consumer complaints (Regulation 10).