Gas (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2002
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2002/475 |
| Year | 2002 |
2002 No. 475
GAS
The Gas (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2002
Made 17th January 2002
Coming into force 1st April 2002
The Gas and Electricity Markets Authority1in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 33A, 33AB, 33D and 47 of the Gas Act 19862after consultation3with the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council4, gas suppliers and gas transporters and with persons and bodies appearing to be representatives of persons likely to be affected by the Regulations, after considering the results of research to discover the views of a representative sample of persons likely to be affected, and with the consent of the Secretary of State in accordance with section 33A(2) of the Gas Act 1986, makes the following Regulations—
Part I
General
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Gas (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2002 and shall come into force on 1st April 2002.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,
“the Act” means the Gas Act 1986;
“applicable date” means, in relation to each occasion upon which a regulation applies, the day upon which that regulation first applies, or, where a prescribed period in a paragraph of a regulation is expressed in hours, the time on that day when that regulation first applies;
“appropriate meter” means a meter stamped in accordance with the provisions of section 175of the Act or regulations made pursuant to that section;
“the Authority” means the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority;
“Consumer Council” means the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council;
“customer” means an owner or occupier of premises in Great Britain who is supplied or requiring to be supplied with gas conveyed to those premises through pipes;
“domestic customer” means a customer supplied or requiring to be supplied with gas at domestic premises (but excluding such customer in so far as he is supplied or requires to be supplied at premises other than domestic premises);
“domestic premises” means premises at which a supply is taken or to be taken wholly or mainly for domestic purposes;
“gas supplier” means, in relation to any premises, a gas supplier who supplies to those premises gas which is conveyed thereto (or, where the premises are secondary sub-deduct premises, to the relevant primary sub-deduct premises) by a gas transporter;
“margins of error” means, in relation to a meter, operating outside the standards prescribed pursuant to the Gas (Meters) Regulations 19836
“pay” includes crediting the account of the customer for charges incurred or to be incurred in respect of the supply or in respect of the provision of any gas meter, and “payment” shall be construed accordingly;
“prescribed period” means, in a paragraph or sub-paragraph of a regulation, the period in column 2 of Part I of the Schedule opposite the reference to that paragraph or sub-paragraph of the regulation in column 1 of Part I of the Schedule;
“prescribed sum” means, in a paragraph or sub-paragraph of a regulation, the amount in column 3 of Part I of the Schedule, opposite the reference to that paragraph or sub-paragraph of the regulation in column 1 of Part I of the Schedule;
“primary sub-deduct premises” means premises to which gas is conveyed by a gas transporter before being conveyed to secondary sub-deduct premises;
“secondary sub-deduct premises” means premises to which gas is conveyed in pursuance of an exemption from section 5(1)(a)7of the Act granted under section 6A8of the Act, for supply by the gas supplier;
“specified time” means—
(a) unless sub-paragraph (b) applies, a part (specified by the gas supplier) of a day (also specified by the gas supplier) within the prescribed period from the applicable date, being either a part which falls either wholly before one o'clock in the afternoon or wholly after noon, or a part not exceeding two hours, or
(b) such part of a day (whether or not within that period) as is requested by the customer and agreed with the supplier, such agreement not to be unreasonably withheld,
Provided—
(i) that a part of a day may be a specified time for the purpose of a regulation notwithstanding that it was requested, agreed or specified prior to the time at which that regulation first applied; and
(ii) that the gas supplier shall not be obliged to agree part of a day less than two hours;
“working day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday within the meaning of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 19719; and
“working hours” means the period between the hours specified in Part II of the Schedule.
(2) In these Regulations “the Schedule” means the Schedule, to these Regulations.
(3) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation in these Regulations bearing that number; and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph or sub-paragraph is a reference to the paragraph or sub-paragraph of the regulation bearing that number.
(4) For the purpose of these Regulations—
(a)
(a) where more than one person is a customer in respect of particular premises, a notice given by a gas supplier to one person who is a customer in respect of those premises shall be a sufficient notice to any other person who is a customer in respect of those premises at the time the notice is given;
(b)
(b) where a person is a customer in respect of more than one premises, a reference in a regulation to `customer' is a reference to that person in respect of each of the premises of which he is a customer to which the regulation applies;
(c)
(c) any reference to the dispatch by a gas supplier of an explanation or reply within a particular period shall not require that the explanation or reply (if in writing ) is received by the customer within that period and shall be satisfied if the gas supplier provides the explanation or reply orally to the customer within that period;
(d)
(d) any reference to a customer shall (except in relation to the entitlement to any payment due from a gas supplier under these Regulations) include any person having apparent authority to represent the customer.
Part II
Gas supplier’s individual standards of performance
Meter disputes
3.—(1) This regulation applies where a gas supplier is notified by a domestic customer—
(a)
(a) that the customer considers that an appropriate meter is or may have been operating outside the margins of error; or
(b)
(b) that circumstances exist which a gas supplier might reasonably expect to have been caused by the meter operating outside the margins of error.
(2) Where this regulation and paragraph (3) apply, and the gas supplier fails within the prescribed period from the applicable date to offer to visit the customer’s premises to investigate the matter during a specified time the gas supplier shall, except in any of the circumstances described in paragraph (5), pay to the customer the prescribed sum.
(3) This paragraph applies where the gas supplier is reasonably satisfied that he is unable to provide an explanation to the customer of the probable reason for the matters notified under paragraph (1) without visiting the customer’s premises.
(4) Where this regulation applies and the gas supplier—
(a)
(a) where paragraph (3) applies, fails to visit the customer’s premises during the specified time he shall pay to the customer the prescribed sum; or
(b)
(b) where paragraph (3) does not apply, fails to dispatch to the customer an explanation of the probable reason for the matter notified under paragraph (1) within the prescribed period from the receipt of the notification he shall pay to the customer the prescribed sum;
except in either case in any of the circumstances described in paragraph (5).
(5) The circumstances described in this paragraph are each of the circumstances described in regulation 8 provided that, in relation to paragraph (6) of that regulation, the gas supplier gave the customer not less than one working day’s prior warning (whether or not in writing ) that he would be unable to visit during the specified time or the circumstances referred to in that paragraph occurred at a time when it was not reasonably practicable to give such a warning.
Pre-payment Meters
4.—(1) This regulation applies where a gas supplier is informed (other than by post) by a domestic customer who takes his supply through a pre-payment meter either that the pre-payment meter is not operating so as to permit a supply to the customer’s premises in the manner for which it was designed, or of circumstances suggesting that the pre-payment meter is not so operating.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), where information is received by a gas supplier outside working hours it shall be deemed to have been received at the commencement of the next following period of working hours.
(3) Where, within the prescribed period from the applicable date, an appropriate person fails to attend at the premises where the pre-payment meter is installed in order to repair or replace the pre-payment meter so as to permit a supply in the manner for which it was designed the gas supplier shall, except in any of the circumstances described in paragraph (4), pay to the customer the prescribed sum.
(4) The circumstances described in this paragraph are:
(a)
(a) each of the circumstances described in regulation 8;
(b)
(b) that the customer requested the gas supplier not to attend the premises;
(c)
(c) that the customer requested the gas supplier not to restore the supply, and
(d)
(d) that the pre-payment meter was found to be operating in the manner for which it was designed.
(5) In this regulation “appropriate person” means a person employed or authorised by a gas supplier to repair and replace pre-payment meters.
Appointments
5.—(1) This regulation...
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