The Gasworks Clauses Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. 15) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which consolidated the law concerning the authorisation of gasworks in the United Kingdom.
A plethora of acts of Parliament concerning gasworks had been enacted since the start of the commercial operations in the 1800s and 1810s. [1]
In 1847 a government commission was established to examine the system of gas supply. [1] It concluded that there was seldom a benefit to the consumer of limited competition between undertakings.
A bill was introduced to consolidate provisions of all previous related acts into a single overarching act and to enact the recommendations of the commission. [2]
The act limited company dividends to ten percent and codified the rights and obligations of gas undertakings and regulated dividends and prices. [2]
The act comprises 50 sections: [3]
The act was amended by the Gasworks Clauses Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 41) [4]
The whole act was repealed by section 76 of, and the fourth schedule to, the Gas Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 67).