Gas (Amendment) Act, 2000

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Obligation of Board to make available use of capacity of natural gas network.

10.—(1) This section specifies the procedure referred to in section 2 (2).

(2) In this section—

“holder of relevant rights” means a person who has been selected as a person who shall have relevant rights;

“normal terms and conditions” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (5);

“statutory terms and conditions” means—

(a) so much of the provision referred to in subsection (5) of section 2 as relates to paragraph (a) of that subsection (5),

(b) the terms and conditions referred to in subsection (5)(b) of section 2 in so far as they relate to the use, for the relevant purposes, of the capacity of the natural gas network, and

(c) the provisions of the regulations referred to in subsection (6) of section 2 in so far as they relate to such use.

(3) A holder of relevant rights may require the Board to enter into a contract with the holder whereby the Board makes available to the holder the use, for the relevant purposes, of the amount of the capacity of the natural gas network as respects which the holder has relevant rights.

(4) A holder of relevant rights shall make such a requirement of the Board by serving a notice on the Board in that behalf within 14 days from the date of his or her being notified by the Commission that he or she has been selected; any such requirement made of the Board otherwise than in accordance with this subsection shall be invalid.

(5) Within 21 days from the date of receipt by it of that notice, the Board shall furnish to the holder concerned a statement in writing of the terms and conditions which it considers should be specified in the contract to which the notice relates and those terms and conditions shall be—

(a) the terms and conditions (with such modifications of them as are necessary to make them consistent with the statutory terms and conditions) which the Board would normally specify in a contract entered into by it, otherwise than pursuant to this section, to make available the use of the amount of the capacity concerned of the natural gas network (in this section referred to as “normal terms and conditions”), and

(b) such terms and conditions as correspond to the statutory terms and conditions.

(6) Such a statement shall indicate in what respects the terms and conditions specified in it and falling within paragraph (a) of subsection (5) have been modified to make them consistent with the statutory terms and conditions.

(7) Subject to subsections (8) to (10), the Board shall enter into the contract to which the notice served under subsection (4) relates within 10 days from the date of furnishing to the holder concerned the statement referred to in subsection (5) and the terms and conditions specified in that contract shall be the terms and conditions specified in that statement (or those terms and conditions with such modifications of them as may, by way of resolution of a dispute referred to in subsection (8), be agreed between the Board and the holder concerned).

(8) If a dispute arises between the holder concerned and the Board—

(a) as to whether—

(i) the terms and conditions specified in the statement concerned referred to in subsection (5) and falling within paragraph (a) of that subsection are, apart from any modification of them of the kind referred to in that paragraph, normal terms and conditions, or

(ii) any modification of those terms and conditions as provided for in that statement complies with that paragraph (a) or whether any modification of those terms and conditions that has not been provided for in that statement ought, for the purposes of that paragraph (a), to have been so provided for,

or

(b) as to whether the terms and conditions specified in the statement concerned referred to in subsection (5) and falling within paragraph (b) of that subsection correspond to the statutory terms and conditions or whether any term or condition that has not been specified in that statement ought, for the purposes of that paragraph (b), to have been so specified,

and the dispute cannot be resolved between them within 10 days from the date of the dispute arising, the dispute shall be referred to the Commission.

(9) The Commission shall determine any dispute referred to it under subsection (8) and, for that purpose, may make such modification (whether by addition or deletion of any matter to or from the statement) of the statement concerned referred to in subsection (5) as it thinks fit.

(10) Within 10 days from the date of the Commission making that determination, the Board shall enter into the contract to which the notice served under subsection (4) relates and the terms and conditions specified in that contract shall be the terms and conditions specified in the statement concerned referred to in subsection (5) (with such modifications, if any, as have been made to them under subsection (9) by the Commission).

(11) The time specified in a provision of this section (other than subsection (4)) as being the time within which a thing is to be done under the provision or, in the case of subsection (8), the time specified in that subsection with respect to the resolution of the dispute concerned may, if the Commission deems it proper to do so, be extended by the Commission by such number of days as it considers appropriate and specifies in writing and where the Commission so extends that time the provision concerned shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(12) For the avoidance of doubt—

(a) nothing in this section shall prevent the inclusion in a contract entered into pursuant to this section of a term enabling the termination or rescission by the Board of the contract, before the expiry of the period specified in the regulations as being the period for which the relevant rights of the holder concerned are to be enjoyed, in the event that a specified term or condition of the contract (other than a term or condition that corresponds to a statutory term or condition) is breached by the holder or breached by the holder in a specified manner or to a specified extent and such a term with respect to such a breach is a term which the Board would normally specify in a contract entered into by it, otherwise than pursuant to this section, to make available the use of the amount of the capacity concerned of the natural gas network,

(b) paragraph (a) of subsection (5) requires to be made as one of the modifications of the terms and conditions mentioned in that paragraph a modification which will have the effect of requiring the Board to terminate, without notice to the holder concerned or any liability on the part of the Board for doing so, the contract entered into with the holder as soon as may be after it is informed by the Commission that the relevant rights of the holder stand forfeited under the provision of the regulations referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of section 2 (6).