Gas Act 1972

Gas Act 1972
Act of Parliament
	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make fresh provision with respect to the gas industry in Great Britain and related matters, and for purposes connected therewith.
Citation	1972 c. 60
Introduced by	January 1972 (Commons)
Territorial extent	Great Britain
Dates
Royal assent	9 August 1972
Commencement	1 January 1973
Other legislation
Amends	Gas Act 1965
Repeals/revokes	Gas Act 1948 ; Gas Act 1960 ;
Repealed by	Gas Act 1986
Status: Repealed

Last updated December 14, 2023

The Gas Act 1972 (c. 60) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which restructured the British gas industry. It established the British Gas Corporation to exercise full responsibility for the oversight, control and operation of the gas industry. The twelve autonomous area gas boards which had managed the industry in their areas now became regions of the British Gas Corporation. The Gas Council, also established under the Gas Act 1948, was abolished and the Gas Act 1948 was repealed. The provisions of the Act came into force on 1 January 1973.

Background

The principal role of the twelve area gas boards, established under the Gas Act 1948, was to maintain a supply of gas to match the demand.^[1] This was through the operation of local gas works manufacturing gas by coal carbonisation or catalytic reforming of refinery light-end products such as methane, naphtha or light oils.^[2] The advent of natural gas from the North Sea, first landed onshore in 1967, shifted the concerns about supply from an area to a national basis. Gas was now fed to an area rather than being manufactured within the area.^[3]

In 1969 the government recognised that to fully exploit the benefits of North Sea Gas a radical reorganisation of the industry was needed with increased central power.^[1] A Bill to realise these changes was introduced in Parliament by the Labour government in November 1969. However, this Bill failed when Parliament was dissolved for the May 1970 general election.^[1] The Conservative government introduced a new Bill in Parliament in January 1972 to put full responsibility for the gas industry into a new statutory body the British Gas Corporation.^[3]

The Gas Act 1972

The Gas Act 1972 received royal assent on 9 August 1972. Its long title is: ‘An Act to make fresh provision with respect to the gas industry in Great Britain and related matters, and for purposes connected therewith’.

Provisions

The act had 50 sections in four parts, plus eight schedules^[4]

Part I defined a new structure for British gas industry. This included the establishment of the British Gas Corporation, its duties and powers, programmes for substantial capital outlay, and the powers of, and reports to, the Secretary of State. It established consumers' bodies such as the National Gas Consumers' Council and the Regional Gas Consumers' Councils, and defined their functions and local representation. The BGC had a specific duty ‘to develop and maintain an efficient, co-ordinated and economical system of gas supply for Great Britain and to satisfy, so far as is economical to do so, all reasonable demands for gas in Great Britain’.^[4]

Part II established financial provisions, including the general financial duties of British Gas Corporation, the borrowing powers of the BGC, the issue of British Gas Stock, keeping of accounts and audits.^[4]

Part III established provisions for the supply and use of gas. This included methods of charge and tariffs, standards of quality, the Gas Supply Code (Schedule 4), restrictions on supply by persons other than the Corporation, and related provisions. It also defined meter testing and stamping and the power to make safety regulations.^[4]

Part IV Defined the position of the BGC with respect of taxation, pension rights, penalties, prosecutions, and offences by corporations, and establishment of inquiries.

Schedule 8 defined statute repeals.^[4]

Later enactments

The Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Act 1982, amended and repealed certain sections of the 1972 Act.

The Gas Act 1986, which privatised the gas industry, repealed further sections of the 1972 Act.

Related Research Articles

The Electricity Act 1947 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or bought into state control, the electricity supply industry in Great Britain. It established a central authority called the British Electricity Authority (BEA) to own and operate all public electricity generation and transmission facilities and created 14 area electricity boards with a duty to acquire bulk supplies of electricity from the central authority and to distribute and sell electricity economically and efficiently to industrial, commercial and domestic consumers. It vested 505 separate local authority and company owned electricity undertakings in the BEA with effect from 1 April 1948. The Electricity Act 1947 is one of a number of Acts promulgated by the post-war Labour government to nationalise elements of the UK’s industrial infrastructure; other Acts include the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946; Transport Act 1947 ; Gas Act 1948; and Iron and Steel Act 1949.

The Coal Industry Nationalisation Act of 1946 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or brought into state control, the coal industry in the United Kingdom. It established the National Coal Board as the managing authority for coal mining and coal processing activities. It also initially provided for the establishment of consumers' councils. The Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 was the first of a number of Acts promulgated by the post-war Labour government to nationalise elements of the UK's industrial infrastructure; other Acts include the Electricity Act 1947; the Transport Act 1947 ; the Gas Act 1948; and the Iron and Steel Act 1949.

The Electricity Act 1989 provided for the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in Great Britain, by replacing the Central Electricity Generating Board in England and Wales and by restructuring the South of Scotland Electricity Board and the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. The Act also established a licensing regime and a regulator for the industry called the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER), which has since become the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM).

The area gas boards were created under the provisions of the Gas Act 1948 enacted by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government. The Act nationalised the British gas industry and also created the Gas Council.

The Gas Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or bought into state control, the gas making and supply industry in Great Britain. It established 12 area gas boards to own and operate all public gas-making, distribution and sales facilities and created a central authority: the Gas Council. It vested the existing local authority and company-owned gas undertakings into the area boards with effect from 1 May 1949. The Gas Act 1948 was one of a number of Acts promulgated by the post-war Labour government to nationalise elements of the UK's industrial infrastructure; other Acts include the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946; the Electricity Act 1947; Transport Act 1947 ; and the Iron and Steel Act 1949.

The Gas Act 1986 created the framework for privatisation of the gas supply industry in Great Britain. This legislation would be replacing the British Gas Corporation with British Gas plc. The Act also established a licensing regime, a Gas Consumers’ Council, and a regulator for the industry called the Office of Gas Supply (OFGAS).

The Electricity (Supply) Act 1919 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law with respect to the supply of electricity. It established the statutory body of the Electricity Commissioners ‘to promote, regulate and supervise the supply of electricity’ under the direction of the Board of Trade. It provided for the formation of electricity districts and, where necessary, the establishment of joint electricity authorities, ‘to provide or secure the provision of a cheap and abundant supply of electricity’.

The Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 are Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. They comprise four public general Acts: the Electric Lighting Act 1882 ; the Electric Lighting Act 1888 ; the Electric Lighting (Clauses) Act 1899 ; and the Electric Lighting Act 1909. The 1882 Act was the first public measure to facilitate and regulate the early electricity industry in the UK. It enabled the Board of Trade to authorise the supply of electricity in any area by a local authority, company or person. Its provisions allowed suppliers to avoid the effort and expense of promoting Private Parliamentary Bills to regularise their legal powers to supply electricity. The 1888 Act amended the 1882 Act and extended the local authority reversion period from 21 to 42 years. The Electric Lighting (Clauses) Act 1899 incorporated in one Act the clauses and provisions contained in provisional orders made under the 1882 and 1888 Acts. It laid down common principles to be incorporated in all provisional orders. The Electric Lighting Act 1909 amended the earlier legislation to reflect the need to reorganise electricity supply to take into account technical developments in the generation and transmission of electricity. The Electric Lighting Acts were amended by subsequent legislation, such as the Electricity Act 1947 which nationalised the electricity supply industry. The Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 were repealed in their entirety by the Electricity Act 1989, which privatised the UK electricity supply industry.

The Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law on the supply of electricity. Its long title is: ‘An Act to amend the law with respect to the supply of electricity’. This Act was construed as one with the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1922, and was cited as the Electricity (Supply) Acts 1882 to 1926. It established a statutory body, the Central Electricity Board (CEB), ‘with the duty of supplying electricity to authorised undertakers’ and to ‘appoint consultative technical committees’. It provided for the Electricity Commissioners to prepare and transmit to the CEB ‘electricity schemes’ for relevant areas, and which identified the most efficient ‘selected’ generating stations which were to be used to generate electricity for the Board. The Act provided for ‘main transmission line’ interconnections between selected stations and undertakings; and to standardise the frequency of generation; and other purposes. The provisions of the Act enabled the construction of the National Grid.

The Gas Council was a UK government body that provided strategic oversight of the gas industry in England, Wales and Scotland between 1949 and 1972.

The Iron and Steel Act 1949 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which nationalised, or bought into state control, elements of the iron and steel industry in Great Britain. It established an Iron and Steel Corporation which acquired certain iron and steel companies. In a departure from earlier nationalisations the Corporation only acquired the share capital of the companies, not the undertakings themselves. The individual companies continued to operate under management Boards appointed by the corporation. The Iron and Steel Act 1949 was one of a number of Acts promulgated by the post-war Labour government to nationalise elements of the UK's industrial infrastructure; other Acts include the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946; the Electricity Act 1947; Transport Act 1947 ; and the Gas Act 1948.

The Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Act 1982 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which started the process of privatisation of the oil and gas industries in the UK. It empowered the government to float off and sell shares in Britoil the upstream production side of the British National Oil Corporation. It ended the British Gas Corporation’s monopoly on the transportation and supply of gas, opening up the gas market to other gas suppliers. The Act made miscellaneous provisions relating to the oil and gas industries concerning Petroleum Licences and Offshore Installations.

The Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which addressed the licensing, ownership, exploitation, production, transportation, processing and refining of petroleum and petroleum products in the UK. Enacted in 1975 when the UK’s first North Sea oil was produced, the act aimed to provide greater public control of the oil industry. The act established the British National Oil Corporation and a National Oil Account; modified the conditions of petroleum licences; controlled the construction and use of underground pipelines; and controlled the development of oil refineries.

The Oil and Pipelines Act 1985 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established the Oil and Pipelines Agency to buy, sell or deal in petroleum and to manage on behalf of the Crown petroleum pipelines and storage installations. The act abolished the British National Oil Corporation and transferred its assets to the Agency.

The Gas Act 1965 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which extended the powers of the Gas Council to buy, make or supply gas; it authorised and controlled the underground storage of gas; and permitted the sale of industrial gas for non-fuel purposes. The Act was in response to changing technologies that had developed since the gas industry was nationalised in 1949.

The Gas and Electricity Act 1968 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which extended the powers of the Gas Council, the area gas boards and the Electricity Council to borrow money, including foreign currency, to meet their obligations; it permitted statutory gas and electricity bodies to render technical aid overseas; and allowed further member appointments to the Electricity Council. The Act was principally in response to a rapid growth of the gas industry following the discovery of North Sea gas on the UK Continental Shelf in 1965.

The Energy Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law to facilitate the generation and supply of electricity other than by Electricity Boards. It also obliged Electricity Boards to adopt combined heat and power schemes. It gave statutory status to the Electricity Consumers' Council. The Act defined the duties of persons responsible for nuclear installations and penalties for a breach of those duties.

The Energy Act 1976 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which empowered the Secretary of State to control the production, supply, acquisition and use of fuels and electricity, and included measures for the conservation of fuels.

The Electricity and Gas Act 1963 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which increased the amounts that could be borrowed by the Electricity Council, the electricity boards, the Gas Council, and the area gas boards. It enabled monetary advances to be made to these bodies, and provided for members of the bodies to be recompensed.

The Electricity (Scotland) Act 1979 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which consolidated enactments relating to the Scottish electricity boards and removed certain anomalies.

References

1 2 3 Williams, Trevor I. (1981). A History of the British Gas Industry. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 236–41. ISBN 0198581572.
↑ Scott Wilson, D. (1969). The Modern Gas Industry. London: Edward Arnold. pp. 11–34.
1 2 Falkus, Malcolm (1988). Always under Pressure. London: Macmillan. pp. 102–03. ISBN 0333468198.
1 2 3 4 5 "Gas Act 1972". legislation.gov.uk. 1972. Retrieved 5 July 2020.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[:0-1] 1 2 3 Williams, Trevor I. (1981). A History of the British Gas Industry. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 236–41. ISBN 0198581572.

[2] Scott Wilson, D. (1969). The Modern Gas Industry. London: Edward Arnold. pp. 11–34.

[:1-3] 1 2 Falkus, Malcolm (1988). Always under Pressure. London: Macmillan. pp. 102–03. ISBN 0333468198.

[:2-4] 1 2 3 4 5 "Gas Act 1972". legislation.gov.uk. 1972. Retrieved 5 July 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]