Gas Act 1972

Supply by other persons

29 Restrictions on supply by persons other than the Corporation, and related provisions

(1) Subject to subsections (4), (10) and (11) below, no person other than the Corporation shall on or after the appointed day supply gas to any premises except with the consent of the Corporation and in accordance with such conditions as may be attached to that consent.

(2) The Corporation shall give their consent under subsection (1) above to the supply of gas if the supply is for industrial purposes which do not consist of or include the use as a fuel of the gas except in so far as it is required to provide heat or other energy required—

(a) for a process in which the gas is used otherwise than as a fuel, or

(b) where such a process is one of a series, for any further process in the same series, not being a process in which a bulk product is converted into manufactured articles;

and in determining whether any industrial purposes are as mentioned in this subsection, the use of any gas derived otherwise than as a by-product from the gas which it is proposed to supply shall be treated as the use of that gas.

If any question arises whether the purposes for which gas is to be supplied are purposes mentioned in this subsection, it shall be determined by the Secretary of State.

(3) The Corporation shall not attach any conditions to their consent to a supply of gas for purposes mentioned in subsection (2) above except conditions requiring the supplier of the gas to provide, periodically or on request by the Corporation, information with respect to the type of gas supplied, the amount supplied, and the use of the gas supplied; and any person aggrieved by any such condition may refer it to the Secretary of State, who may confirm, vary or revoke it, or impose instead some other condition which the Corporation could have imposed under this subsection.

(4) A person who produces gas as a by-product of an industrial process and who is aggrieved by a refusal of consent under subsection (1) above or by any conditions attached to such a consent may apply to the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of State, if he thinks fit to do so after affording to the Corporation an opportunity to make representations to him and considering any representations so made, may himself authorise that person to make the supply in question in accordance with such conditions as the Secretary of State may specify.

(5) Any person who is engaged after the appointed day in the manufacture of gas may by notice require the Corporation to buy all or part of the gas manufactured by him which he does not require for his own use; and the Corporation shall, if and so far as it is reasonably practicable and economical for them to do so, comply with that requirement.

(6) The Corporation may, if it appears to them to be necessary for the proper performance of their duty under section 2(1) of this Act, require any person manufacturing gas to sell to them all or part of the gas manufactured by him which he does not require for his own use, and the said person shall comply with that requirement; and where the Corporation make such a requirement, any rights and obligations of the person on whom it is made relating to the supply of gas after the date on which the requirement takes effect shall be transferred to the Corporation, and any agreement relating to such supply shall have effect accordingly:

Provided that the Corporation shall not be under any liability by reason of any failure to provide a supply in pursuance of any such obligation if the failure is due to any deficiency in the quantity or quality of the gas supplied in pursuance of the said requirement.

(7) Where any requirement is made under subsection (5) or (6) above, any pipes or other plant or gas fittings which the person who is to sell gas to the Corporation uses or holds for the purpose of or in connection with the supply of gas manufactured by him and which will in consequence of the said requirement no longer be required by him, but not including any pipes, plant or fittings which it is not reasonably practicable and economical for the Corporation to take over, shall if either the Corporation or the said person so requires, be transferred to the Corporation.

(8) Any question arising under subsection (5), (6) or (7) above as to whether, or as to the extent to which, it is reasonably practicable and economical for the Corporation to buy a supply of gas, or as to the terms and conditions on which the supply is to be given, or as to whether, or as to the extent to which, pipes, plant or gas fittings are to be transferred to the Corporation, or as to the terms and conditions on which they are to be transferred, shall be referred for inquiry and report to a person appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry after consultation with the Lord Chancellor or, in Scotland, after consultation with the Secretary of State for Scotland, and shall be determined by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry after considering the report of the said person.

(9) For the purposes of this section—

(a) a person providing gas for his own use shall not in so doing be deemed to be supplying gas, and gas provided by a company for the use of any subsidiary or holding company of that company, or of any subsidiary of a holding company of that company, shall be deemed to be provided for the use of that company;

(b) a person providing, for use in a flat or part of a building let by him, gas supplied to him shall not in so doing be deemed to be supplying gas.

(10) This section shall not affect the supply of gas by any person otherwise than through pipes.

(11) This section shall not apply to natural gas got in pursuance of a licence under the [1934 c. 36.] Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 (including a licence under that Act as applied by section 1(3) of the [1964 c. 29.] Continental Shelf Act 1964).