Gas Act 1972

Supply by British Gas Corporation

24 Duty of Corporation to avoid undue preference in supply

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below and to any directions' given to them by the Secretary of State under section 7(1) of this Act, the Corporation shall avoid any undue preference in the supply of gas to consumers.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) above shall be construed as applying to the terms of any special agreement made by the Corporation under subsection (6) of section 25 below so far as those terms relate to the charges to be made for the supply of gas.

25 Methods of charge and tariffs

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to any regulations made under section 41 of this Act, the Corporation shall charge for the gas supplied by them according to the number of therms supplied, that number being calculated in the prescribed manner on the basis of the declared calorific value of the gas.

In this Act—

• " calorific value " means, subject to the provisions of any regulations made under section 41 of this Act, the number of British thermal units (gross) produced by the combustion of one cubic foot of gas measured at sixty degrees Fahrenheit under a pressure of thirty inches of mercury and, if the Secretary of State so determines in relation to gas supplied to any area, containing such an amount of water vapour as is specified in the determination, and

• " declared calorific value " means calorific value declared by the Corporation in accordance with regulations under subsection (2) below.

(2) Regulations shall make provision—

(a) as to the time when, and the manner in which, the calorific value of gas supplied by the Corporation is to be declared, and is to be brought to the notice of consumers,

(b) as to the time when any such declaration is to take effect, and

(c) for the adjustment of charges for gas in cases where an alteration in the declared calorific value occurs in the course of a period for which such charges are made.

(3) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the prices to be charged by the Corporation for the supply of gas by them shall be in accordance with such tariffs as may be fixed from time to time by them, and those tariffs, which may relate to the supply of gas in different areas, cases and circumstances, shall be so framed as to show the methods by which and the principles on which the charges are to be made as well as the prices which are to be charged, and shall be published in such manner as in the opinion of the Corporation will secure adequate publicity for them.

(4) A tariff fixed by the Corporation under subsection (3) above may include a standing charge in addition to the charge for the actual gas supplied, and may also include a rent or other charge in respect of any gas meter or gas fittings provided by the Corporation on the premises of the consumer.

(5) In fixing tariffs under subsection (3) above, the Corporation shall not show undue preference to any person or class of persons, and shall not exercise any undue discrimination against any person or class of persons.

(6) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding provisions of this section, the Corporation may enter into a special agreement with any consumer for the supply of gas to him on such terms as may be specified in the agreement:

Provided that the Corporation shall not enter into any such agreement except in cases where the tariffs in force are not appropriate owing to special circumstances.

(7) Where, immediately before the appointed day, charges for gas supplied by an Area Board from any gasworks are, by virtue of an authorisation granted to the Board under section 53(2) of the [1948 c. 67.] Gas Act 1948, being made by some method other than according to the number of therms supplied, the Corporation may continue to charge for gas supplied from those gasworks by that other method until the expiry of the period specified in the authorisation, and may be authorised by the Secretary of State to continue so to charge after the expiry of that period if it appears to him that it would be impracticable or uneconomical to require them to charge according to the number of therms supplied.

26 Standards of quality

(1) The Secretary of State shall after consultation with the Corporation prescribe standards of pressure, purity and uniformity of calorific value to be complied with by the Corporation in supplying gas, and may after such consultation prescribe other standards with respect to the properties, condition and composition of gas supplied by the Corporation.

(2) The Secretary of State shall appoint competent and impartial persons to carry out tests of the gas supplied by the Corporation for the purpose of ascertaining whether it is of the declared calorific value and conforms with the standards prescribed under this section.

(3) Regulations may provide—

(a) for determining the places at which such tests as aforesaid are to be carried out,

(b) for requiring premises, apparatus and equipment to be provided and maintained by the Corporation for the purpose of carrying out such tests,

(c) for persons representing the Corporation to be present during the carrying out of such tests,

(d) for the manner in which the results of such tests are to be made available to the public,

(e) for conferring powers of entry on property of the Corporation for the purpose of deciding where tests are to be carried out and otherwise for the purposes of this section, and

(f) for any other matters supplementary or incidental to the matters aforesaid for which provision appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient.

(4) There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament to the persons appointed under subsection (2) above such remuneration and such allowances as may be determined by the Secretary of State with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service, and such pensions as may be so determined may be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament to or in respect of those persons.

(5) The Corporation shall repay to the Secretary of State any sums paid by him under subsection (4) above, and such part of his other expenses as he may with the consent of the Treasury determine to be attributable to his functions in connection with the testing of gas for the purposes of this section; and any liability of the Corporation under this subsection to pay to the Secretary of State sums on account of pensions (whether paid by him under subsection (4) above or otherwise) shall, if the Secretary of State so determines, be satisfied by way of contributions calculated, at such rate as may be determined by the Minister for the Civil Service, by reference to remuneration.

(6) The reference in subsection (5) above to expenses of the Secretary of State includes a reference to expenses incurred by any government department in connection with the Department of Trade and Industry, and to such sums as the Treasury may determine in respect of the use for the purposes of that department of any premises belonging to the Crown.

27 Supply code

The provisions of Schedule 4 to this Act (which relate to the supply of gas by the Corporation and connected matters) shall have effect.

28 Relief to Corporation in emergency conditions

Without prejudice to any other provision of this Act or the provisions of any regulations thereunder, in any proceedings against the Corporation for or arising out of a failure by them to comply with any duty with respect to the supply of gas imposed on them by or under any enactment (including any duty with respect to pressure of supply), it shall be a defence for the Corporation to prove that circumstances existed by reason of which compliance with the duty would or might have involved danger to the public, and that they took all such steps as it was reasonable for them to take both to prevent the circumstances from occurring and to prevent them from having that effect.