The Act also implements a number of other policy objectives as follows.
Until now, there has been no criminal offence in gas legislation equivalent to the ‘damage to electrical plant’ provided by electricity legislation. The Act creates a new criminal offence to bring the gas industry in line with the position in the electricity industry.
Similarly, there was no provision in gas legislation equivalent to that in electricity legislation which exempts electrical equipment belonging to local electricity companies from judgment and bankruptcy processes. The Act therefore contains provisions to bring the gas industry in line with the position in the electricity industry.
The Act also makes a minor clarification in respect of the Gas Order provisions relating to the offence of storing gas without the requisite authorisation or exemption.
Finally, the Act makes an amendment to the Gas Order so that the Utility Regulator is not required to appoint meter examiners solely from members of its staff.