Utilities Act 2000

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Utilities Act 2000
Act of Parliament
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, variant 1).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to provide for the establishment and functions of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority and the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council; to amend the legislation regulating the gas and electricity industries; and for connected purposes.
Citation 2000 c. 27
Territorial extent  England and Wales & Scotland (except amendments & repeals) [1]
Dates
Royal assent 28 July 2000
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes Fossil Fuel Levy Act 1998
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Utilities Act 2000 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Utilities Act 2000 [2] (c. 27) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that deals with the gas and electrical markets in the UK.

Contents

Provisions

It mainly modified the Gas Act 1986, the Gas Act 1995 and Electricity Act 1989. One of the greatest changes was that integrated electricity companies were required to have separate licences for each of their businesses such as supply or distribution. The bill was originally published as a draft bill to deal with provisions to deal with water and telecommunications as well, but following industry concerns over duplicate regulation they were dropped. [3]

The act established Ofgem. [4]

Section 105 of the Act [5] is intended to protect national security; it prohibits the disclosure of certain types of information relevant to the energy sector, with penalties of fines and up to two years' imprisonment for breaches. The section has been used by Ofgem to threaten whistleblowers informing their managers and the National Audit Office of misspends of millions of pounds. [6] [7] The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the law contravened the European Convention on Human Rights. [8]

Reception

The act was supported by the National Energy Consumers Council. [9]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Utilities Act 2000: Section 110", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 2000 c. 27 (s. 110) (4) and (5)
  2. ↑ "Utilities Act 2000", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 2000 c. 27
  3. ↑ Ward, Lucy (3 March 2000). "U-turn on water and telecoms 'sickens' top Tory". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "Ofgem". Institute for Government. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ "Utilities Act 2000: Section 105", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 2000 c. 27 (s. 105)
  6. ↑ Curwen, Lesley; Lewis, David (13 November 2018). "Millions 'misspent on green energy abuse'". BBC News.
  7. ↑ Nick Hopkins (17 September 2018). "Ofgem exploited national security law to silence us, whistleblowers claim". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ "Utilities Act Is Incompatible With European Convention on Human Rights". Bindmans LLP. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "UTILITIES BILL PROMISES BETTER CUSTOMER PROTECTION AND LOWER PRICES". Local Government Chronicle. 25 January 2000. Archived from the original on 19 December 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2026.


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