The Gas (Standards of Performance) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

Amendment of regulation 12 of the Principal Regulations

9.—(1) Regulation 12 of the Principal Regulations (Payments) shall be amended as provided below.

(2) After paragraph (1) insert—

“(1A) Paragraph (3A) applies where a gas transporter is obliged to make a payment to a customer whose premises are directly connected to the pipe-line system of another gas transporter under regulation 7.”.

(3) For paragraph (2) substitute—

“(2) Paragraph (4) applies—

(a) where a gas transporter is obliged to make a payment to a customer whose premises are directly connected to its pipe-line system under any of regulations 7 to 10B (inclusive); or

(b) where a gas transporter receives a payment from another gas transporter for onward transmission to a customer whose premises are directly connected to its pipe-line system.”.

(4) After paragraph (3) insert—

“(3A) Where this paragraph applies and the gas transporter fails within the prescribed period from the applicable date to make the payment to the customer, or to the other gas transporter for onward transmission to the customer of the sum to which he is entitled, the gas transporter shall, except in any of the circumstances described in paragraph (5), pay the prescribed sum to the customer or to that other gas transporter for onward transmission to the customer.”.

(5) For paragraph (4) substitute—

“(4) Where this paragraph applies and the gas transporter fails to make payment to the customer of the sum to which he is entitled—

(a) within the prescribed period from the applicable date, where paragraph 2(a) applies; or

(b) within the prescribed period from the applicable date, where paragraph 2(b) applies,

the gas transporter shall, except in any of the circumstances described in paragraph (5), pay to the customer the prescribed sum.”.

(6) In paragraph (6)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (b) omit “and”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (c)(i) omit “to a supplier’s bank account”;

(c) for sub-paragraph (c)(ii) substitute—

“(ii) an account credit for charges incurred or to be incurred in respect of the supply of gas or the provision of any gas meter or the provision of any connection;”; and

(d) for sub-paragraph (d) substitute—

“(d) where a gas transporter elects to make any payment directly to a customer, the payment by the gas transporter to a person whom it reasonably believes to be the customer in respect of the premises in relation to which the entitlement arises shall be a complete discharge of the obligation of the gas transporter to make the payment to the customer of those premises; and”.

(7) After paragraph 6(d) insert—

“(e) in relation to a customer whose premises are directly connected to the pipe-line system of another gas transporter, a payment to that other gas transporter for onward transmission to the customer shall be a complete discharge of the obligation of the gas transporter to make the payment to the customer.

(7) Where all or part of the prescribed sum is paid by a gas transporter to a customer under these regulations, such a payment shall not prevent that gas transporter from recovering that payment (or part of that payment) from another gas transporter where that other gas transporter is wholly or partly responsible for the liability arising under these regulations.

(8) In this regulation only—

(a) “payment” means, in respect of regulations 7, 8, 10 and 10B, the aggregate of payments due to a customer under each of those regulations; and

(b) “applicable date” means—

(i) in relation to paragraph (3A), the day upon which the gas transporter receives notification from the other gas transporter in accordance with regulation 7(3)(e); and

(ii) in relation to paragraph (4), in respect of regulation 9 and regulation 10A, the day upon which the gas transporter receives a claim for compensation from the customer.”.