DOCSLIB.ORG

Notice of Appeal: National Grid

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Notice of Appeal: National Grid NON-SENSITIVE VERSION BEFORE THE COMPETITION AND MARKETS AUTHORITY IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL UNDER SECTION 23B OF THE GAS ACT 1986 B E T W E E N : NATIONAL GRID GAS PLC Appellant and GAS AND ELECTRICITY MARKETS AUTHORITY Respondent NOTICE OF APPEAL ENERGY LICENCE MODIFICATION RIIO-2 Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 3 More London Riverside London SE1 2AQ Tel +44 20 7283 6000 Fax +20 7283 6500 NON-SENSITIVE VERSION Contents SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 3 A. Overview 3 B. Request for permission to appeal 3 C. Legal framework 3 D. Scope of the appeal 4 E. Key documents 4 F. Request for appeals to be heard together 7 G. Contact details 7 SECTION 2: LEGAL FRAMEWORK................................................................................................... 9 A. Overview 9 B. Statutory grounds of appeal 9 C. GEMA's principal objective and statutory duties 10 D. Standard of review to be applied by the CMA 11 E. The CMA's powers when allowing an appeal 12 SECTION 3: GROUND 1 – COST OF EQUITY................................................................................. 13 A. Overview 13 B. CAPM Selectivity error 14 C. Cross-checks error 44 D. Aiming up error 56 E. Insufficient COE Error 70 F. Legal consequences 74 G. Relief sought 74 SECTION 4: GROUND 2 – OUTPERFORMANCE WEDGE............................................................. 76 A. Overview 76 B. GEMA’s decision 77 C. GEMA’s errors 81 D. Legal consequences 95 E. Relief sought 96 SECTION 5: CHRONOLOGY ............................................................................................................ 97 SECTION 6: GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................. 98 SECTION 7: STATEMENT OF TRUTH ........................................................................................... 105 ANNEX 1: Statutory grounds engaged by Ground 1 – Cost of equity ..................................... 106 ANNEX 2: Statutory grounds engaged by Ground 2 - Outperformance wedge...................... 122 ANNEX 3: Hyperlinks to Exhibits in NOA1.................................................................................. 135 2 NON-SENSITIVE VERSION SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION A. Overview National Grid Gas plc (NGG or the Appellant) is a subsidiary of National Grid plc and the licensed gas transmission owner (TO) and system operator (SO) which plans, constructs, owns and operates the high pressure National Transmission System (NTS) in Great Britain. The Appellant holds a gas transporter licence (the Licence) treated as granted under section 7 of the Gas Act 1986 (GA86) authorising its gas transportation activities in respect of the NTS. The Appellant is therefore often referred to as National Grid Gas Transmission (NGGT) to denote that its activities are connected with the gas transmission system as opposed to the gas distribution network (GDN). NGG and NGGT are the same entity and the Appellant uses both these terms interchangeably in this Notice of Appeal (NOA) and supporting documents. This appeal concerns the decision made by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA or the Authority)1 on 3 February 2021 under section 23(1)(a) GA86 to modify the conditions of the Licence to give effect to the RIIO-T2 Final Determinations (FD)2, which will operate from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2026 (RIIO-T2 Decision). The RIIO-T2 price control applies to electricity and gas transmission owners and replaces the existing RIIO-T1 price control which runs from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2021. It is part of a broader suite of price controls – known collectively as the RIIO-2 price controls – which from 1 April 2021 also apply to the GDNs (RIIO-GD2) and the electricity system operator (RIIO-ESO2). References to RIIO-2 in this appeal can be read as applying to RIIO-T2. GEMA’s stated aim for RIIO-2 is to drive better services for consumers at the most efficient cost, at the same time as preparing network companies for the energy system of the future. In particular, its objective is to ensure that the price control provides sufficient funding to enable a wide range of Net Zero trajectories throughout the next decade. GEMA has acknowledged that its RIIO-2 price control is challenging for companies.3 B. Request for permission to appeal The Appellant seeks permission under sections 23B(1) and (3) GA86 to bring an appeal (and, if permission is granted, to appeal) against the RIIO-T2 Decision in its capacity as a relevant licence holder. Section 23B(2)(a) GA86 provides that a relevant licence holder (within the meaning of section 23 GA86) may bring an appeal. The Appellant is a ‘relevant licence holder’ as defined in section 23(10)(b) GA86 as it is the holder of a particular licence, the conditions of which are to be modified by the RIIO-T2 Decision. Accordingly, the Appellant has standing to bring this appeal. C. Legal framework The Appellant recognises that the CMA has applied the relevant legal framework in previous appeals, and has therefore sought to summarise it as succinctly as possible in section 2. 1 GEMA is supported by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). The Appellant refers interchangeably to GEMA, the Authority and Ofgem in this document, depending on the context. 2 In setting the RIIO-T2 price control for transmission companies, Ofgem has also made sector-specific decisions for each of electricity transmission (ET) (RIIO-ET2) and gas transmission (GT) (RIIO-GT2) where appropriate. However, the aspects of the RIIO-T2 decision that are the subject of this appeal are common to both ET and GT. 3 FD, Core Document, Chapter 1 [NOA1/11]. 3 NON-SENSITIVE VERSION D. Scope of the appeal In bringing this appeal, the Appellant has carefully considered the RIIO-T2 Decision and the objective of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to dispose of appeals fairly and efficiently within the time periods prescribed by the GA86.4 Accordingly, the Appellant has confined its appeal to two discrete issues where the RIIO-T2 Decision is wrong. Ground 1 concerns GEMA’s errors in setting the Cost of Equity (COE), which are explained in section 3. Ground 2 concerns GEMA’s erroneous introduction of a deduction from NGG’s allowed returns known as the “outperformance wedge”, which is addressed in section 4. These decisions are wrong within the meaning of section 23D(4) GA86 for the reasons explained in sections 3 and 4 respectively, and as more particularly described in Annex 1 and Annex 2. These errors are material because of their harmful impact on consumers, their financial impact on the Appellant over the period covered by RIIO-T2, the potential impact on future price controls and for reasons of regulatory and economic principle. E. Key documents The grounds of this appeal, reasons and supporting evidence are contained in this NOA, in Exhibit NOA1, and in the Witness Statements and Exhibits to those Witness Statements.5 The Appellant has provided written evidence for this appeal in the form of: a) Witness Statement of Nicola Shaw, Executive Director, National Grid plc, dated 2 March 2021 (NS1) b) Witness Statement of Chris Bennett, Director, UK Regulation, National Grid plc, dated 1 March 2021 (CB1) c) Witness Statement of Darren Pettifer, Head of Regulatory Finance, National Grid plc, dated 2 March 2021 (DP1) d) Expert Witness Statement of Mike Huggins, Director, Frontier Economics, dated 1 March 2021 (MH1) and exhibits: (i) Cost of Equity for RIIO-2: An expert report prepared for National Grid dated 1 March 2021, (the ‘Cost of Equity Report’) in support of Ground 1; and (ii) The Deduction to RIIO-2 Allowed Equity Return in Anticipation of Future Outperformance: An expert report prepared for National Grid dated 1 March 2021 (the ‘Wedge Report’) in support of Ground 2. The Appellant has also included the following key documents in NOA1:6 No. Document Date Exhibit Reference Ofgem key price control documents 1. Open letter on the RIIO-2 Framework 12 July 2017 NOA1/1 2. RIIO-2 Framework Consultation (Framework 7 March 2018 NOA1/2 Consultation) 3. RIIO-2 Framework Decision (Framework 30 July 2018 NOA1/3 Decision) 4 CMA Rules, rules 4.1 and 4.2 [NOA1/36]. 5 The Appellant has separately provided a master index of all documents. 6 The Appellant has provided hyperlinks to any documents which are in the public domain in Annex 3. 4 NON-SENSITIVE VERSION No. Document Date Exhibit Reference 4. RIIO-2 Sector Specific Methodology 18 December 2018 NOA1/4 Consultation 5. RIIO-2 Sector Specific Methodology 18 December 2018 NOA1/5 Consultation: Finance Annex 6. RIIO-2 Sector Specific Methodology Decision 24 May 2019 NOA1/6 7. RIIO-2 Sector Specific Methodology Decision: 24 May 2019 NOA1/7 Finance Annex 8. RIIO-2 Draft Determinations: Core Document 9 July 2020 NOA1/8 9. RIIO-2 Draft Determinations: Finance Annex 9 July 2020 NOA1/9 10. RIIO-2 Final Determinations: Overview 8 December 2020 NOA1/10 11. RIIO-2 Final Determinations: Core Document – Originally published NOA1/11 Revised on 8 December 2020 with revised version published on 3 February 2021 12. RIIO-2 Final Determinations: Finance Annex – Originally published NOA1/12 Revised on 8 December 2020 with revised version published on 3 February 2021 13. RIIO-2 Final Determinations: Impact 8 December 2020 NOA1/13 Assessment Annex 14. RIIO-2 Statutory Licence Modification – Notice 3 February 2021 NOA1/14 15. RIIO-2 Statutory Licence Modification – 3 February 2021 NOA1/15 Reasons and effects Other relevant documents 16. ‘Estimating the cost of capital for implementation 6 March 2018 NOA1/16 of price controls by UK Regulators: An update on Mason, Miles and Wright (2003)’ authored by Burns, Mason, Pickford and Wright (UKRN Report) 17. CMA Provisional Findings, PR19 29 September 2020 NOA1/17 Redetermination (PR19 PFs) 18. CMA Working Paper: Choosing a point estimate 8 January 2021 NOA1/18 for the Cost of Capital, PR19 Redetermination (Aiming Up Working Paper) 19. NATS Provisional Findings (NATS PFs) and 24 March 2020 / NOA1/19 NATS Final Report (NATS Final Report), 23 July 2020 together referred to as NATS (En Route) Plc/CAA Regulatory Appeal (NATS Appeal) 20.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Privatisation RESEARCH PAPER 14/61 20 November 2014
    Privatisation RESEARCH PAPER 14/61 20 November 2014 This paper examines the economic policy which came to be known as ‘privatisation’ – the transfer of responsibility for an industry or the ownership of a company from the public to the private sector. From the 1980s until the mid-1990s, privatisation was an important component of economic policy. Privatisation continued after 1997, although there have only been a handful of instances since then and they have often been referred to by other names. After 2010, interest in the policy as an economic tool revived, particularly with the privatisation of Royal Mail. After defining ‘privatisation’, this paper presents a brief history of the policy. An analysis of the motivations behind the policy is followed by a discussion of the different methods of privatisation, including public flotations, management-led buyouts and private sales. We discuss the importance of regulation and competition in privatised industries and present data showing the scale of privatisation in each year since 1970. Finally, we review various strategies for assessing privatisation as a policy and present a chronological table showing each major privatisation by year. The annex to this paper is a collection of short articles which describe the main features of each major privatisation, including the type of sale, the proceeds to government, and other details. Chris Rhodes David Hough Louise Butcher Recent Research Papers 14/52 Economic Indicators, October 2014 07.10.14 14/53 Recall of MPs Bill [Bill 94 of 2014-15] 09.10.14
    [Show full text]
  • Renationalisation: Back to the Future?
    IEA Current Controversies No.72 RENATIONALISATION: BACK TO THE FUTURE? Julian Jessop and J.R. Shackleton November 2019 Institute of Economic A airs IEA Current Controversies papers are designed to promote discussion of economic issues and the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. As with all IEA publications, the views expressed are those of the authors and not those of the Institute (which has no corporate view), its managing trustees, Academic Advisory Council or other senior staff 3 Contents About the authors 4 Summary 6 Introduction 8 Nationalisation and privatisation in the UK 10 Water 19 Railways 30 Energy 40 Royal Mail 48 New organisational forms? 53 The costs of renationalisation 56 Conclusions 60 References 63 Acknowledgement The authors are grateful to Professor Stephen Littlechild for helpful comments and advice. 44 About the authors 55 Julian Jessop Julian Jessop is an independent economist with over thirty years of experience, including senior positions at HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Capital Economics. He began his career in 1987 as a junior economist in the Public Enterprise Analytic Unit of HM Treasury, working on regulation and privatisation. Julian was Chief Economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs until December 2018 and continues to support the work of the IEA, especially schools and university outreach, on a pro bono basis. J. R. Shackleton J. R. Shackleton is Professor of Economics at the University of Buckingham and Research and Editorial Fellow at the IEA. He edits the journal Economic Affairs. 6 Summary ● Actual and perceived problems associated with privatised utilities have led to some public disenchantment with these businesses.
    [Show full text]
  • Prospectus Dated 3 September 2019
    PROSPECTUS DATED 3 SEPTEMBER 2019 NGG Finance plc (incorporated with limited liability in England and Wales on 21 May 2001 under registered number 4220381) €500,000,000 Fixed Rate Resettable Capital Securities due 2079 €750,000,000 Fixed Rate Resettable Capital Securities due 2082 unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by National Grid plc (incorporated with limited liability in England and Wales on 11 July 2000 under registered number 4031152) Issue Price: 100.000 per cent. in respect of the 2079 Euro Securities 100.000 per cent. in respect of the 2082 Euro Securities The €500,000,000 Fixed Rate Resettable Capital Securities due 2079 (the “2079 Euro Securities”) and the €750,000,000 Fixed Rate Resettable Capital Securities due 2082 (the “2082 Euro Securities” and together with the 2079 Euro Securities, the “Securities” and each, a “Tranche”) will be issued on 5 September 2019 (the “Issue Date”) by NGG Finance plc (the “Issuer”) and unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed on a subordinated basis as described herein by National Grid plc (the “Guarantees” and the “Guarantor”, respectively). The 2079 Euro Securities will bear interest from (and including) the Issue Date to (but excluding) 5 December 2024 (the “2079 Euro Securities First Reset Date”) at a rate of 1.625 per cent. per annum, payable, subject as described herein, annually in arrear on 5 December in each year. The first payment of interest, to be made on 5 December 2019, will be in respect of the period from (and including) the Issue Date to (but excluding) 5 December 2019 and will amount to €4.05 per €1,000 in principal amount of the 2079 Euro Securities.
    [Show full text]
  • Gas Act 1986
    Changes to legislation: There are outstanding changes not yet made by the legislation.gov.uk editorial team to Gas Act 1986. Any changes that have already been made by the team appear in the content and are referenced with annotations. (See end of Document for details) View outstanding changes Gas Act 1986 1986 CHAPTER 44 An Act to provide for the appointment and functions of a Director General of Gas Supply and the establishment and functions of a Gas Consumers’ Council; to abolish the privilege conferred on the British Gas Corporation by section 29 of the Gas Act 1972; to make new provision with respect to the supply of gas through pipes and certain related matters; to provide for the vesting of the property, rights and liabilities of the British Gas Corporation in a company nominated by the Secretary of State and the subsequent dissolution of that Corporation; to make provision with respect to, and to information furnished in connection with, agreements relating to the initial supply of gas won under the authority of a petroleum production licence; and for connected purposes. [25th July 1986] Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— Extent Information E1 Act, except for specified provisions, does not extend to N.I., see s. 68(6) Modifications etc. (not altering text) C1 Act applied (8.11.1995) by 1995 c. 45, s. 17(2) C2 Act: references to the Director General of Gas Supply ("the Director") shall be read as references to the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority ("the Authority") (20.12.2000) by virtue of Utilities Act 2000 (c.
    [Show full text]
  • Additional Information
    National Grid plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 4. Additional Information The business in detail 226 Key milestones 226 Where we operate 227 UK regulation 228 US regulation 231 Internal control and risk factors 236 Disclosure controls 236 Internal control over financial reporting 236 Risk factors 236 Shareholder information 240 Articles of Association 240 Depositary payments to the Company 241 Description of securities other than equity securities: depositary fees and charges 241 Documents on display 241 Events after the reporting period 242 Exchange controls 242 Material interests in shares 242 Share capital 242 Share information 242 Shareholder analysis 243 Taxation 243 Other disclosures 245 All-employee share plans 245 Change of control provisions 245 Code of Ethics 245 Conflicts of interest 245 Corporate governance practices: differences from New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing standards 245 Directors’ indemnity 245 Employees 246 Human Rights 246 Listing Rule 9.8.4 R cross-reference table 246 Material contracts 246 Political donations and expenditure 246 Property, plant and equipment 247 Research, development and innovation activity 247 Unresolved SEC staff comments 249 Other unaudited financial information 250 Commentary on consolidated financial information 260 Five year summary financial information 262 Definitions and glossary of terms 263 Want more information or help? 267 Picture by Cautionary statement 268 Leo Harry Jamieson UK Joint winner Age group 12–16 224 National Grid plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 Additional Information 225 National Grid plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 Additional Information The business in detail Key milestones Some of the key dates and actions in the corporate history 1986 1990 of National Grid are listed below.
    [Show full text]
  • An Oral History of the Electricity Supply Industry
    AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY INDUSTRY Scoping Study for proposed National Life Stories Project Sally Horrocks and Thomas Lean November 2011 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NLS Scoping Study: An Oral History of the Electricity Supply Industry in the UK Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of all those consulted during the course of this study, and apologise in advance for any factual inaccuracies added or reproduced despite checking for these, and for any unintentional misunderstandings or misrepresentations of informants’ viewpoints. Comments and feedback on these are welcome. Address for correspondence: Contact Details: Dr Sally Horrocks and Dr Thomas Lean National Life Stories The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB [email protected] ; [email protected] 0207 412 7404 National Life Stories address for correspondence: Rob Perks Director National Life Stories The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB www.bl.uk/nls Email: [email protected] Tel: 020 7412 7405 2 NLS Scoping Study: An Oral History of the Electricity Supply Industry in the UK Table of Contents Table of Contents....................................................................................................... 3 Definitions and Acronyms........................................................................................... 5 Key Organisations in the UK Electrical Supply Industry ............................................. 7 Section 1 - Summary and Recommendations.........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • EU Regulation of Gas Transmission Tariffs in the Netherlands and the UK
    Charting the Gaps: EU regulation of gas transmission tariffs in the Netherlands and the UK Manuel Klop1 January 2009 NG 26 1 The author completed most of the work while an associate visiting student at New College, Oxford. He currently is an MA candidate at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC. The contents of this paper are the author’s sole responsibility. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies or any of its members. Copyright © 2008 Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (Registered Charity, No. 286084) This publication may be reproduced in part for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgment of the source is made. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. ISBN 978-1-901795-82-0 ii Preface The Dutch and British gas markets are among the largest in the Europe and therefore the way in which these two countries have chosen to organise third party access to networks is extremely significant. The differences of approach between EU countries, even those which have embraced liberalisation and third party access with relative enthusiasm, are a matter of great importance to the success of the evolution of a single European gas market. For these reasons this paper on the “gaps” between the Dutch and the British approach is a welcome contribution to the Natural Gas Programme’s work on European gas liberalisation following the papers by: Lohmann on Germany, Haase on regulatory regimes, Cavaliere on Italy and Hunt on entry-exit tariffs.
    [Show full text]
  • UK Energy Policy 1980-2010 a History and Lessons to Be Learnt a Review to Mark 30 Years of the Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies
    Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies An Associate All Party Parliamentary Group UK Energy Policy 1980-2010 A history and lessons to be learnt A review to mark 30 years of the Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies Professor Peter Pearson Director, Low Carbon Research Institute of Wales Cardiff University and Professor Jim Watson Director, Sussex Energy Group University of Sussex £20 UK Energy Policy 1980-2010 A history and lessons to be learnt The. Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is one of the world’s leading professional societies of engineers and technicians, with over 150,000 members in 127 countries. The IET is a ‘professional home for life’ for its members and supports their professional needs throughout their careers. The IET’s Energy Sector brings together the global energy community to advance innovation by providing a platform for the exchange of knowledge and facilitating professional networking. The IET’s membership of the Parliamentary Group for Energy Studies dates from the 1980s when the institution was known as the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). Throughout the years, the IET has valued its links with the Parliamentary Group and the quality of debate at PGES meetings. The current chair of the IET Energy Policy Panel, Dr Simon Harrison, is an active member of the PGES Executive Council. Over the last five years the IET has supported the evolution of UK energy policy through providing independent expert analysis and recommendations to the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change, The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Ofgem and others. In its policy advice the IET stresses the importance of an engineering systems approach to draw out policy measures that enable good technical and engineering solutions.
    [Show full text]
  • Regulatory Reform in Gas and Electricity and the Professions
    OECD REVIEWS OF REGULATORY REFORM REGULATORY REFORM IN THE UNITED KINGDOM REGULATORY REFORM IN GAS AND ELECTRICITY AND THE PROFESSIONS ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT © OECD (2002). All rights reserved. 1 ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed: − to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy; − to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development; and − to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations. The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became Members subsequently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan (28th April 1964), Finland (28th January 1969), Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973), Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21st December 1995), Hungary (7th May 1996), Poland (22nd November 1996), Korea (12th December 1996) and the Slovak Republic (14th December 2000). The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD Convention).
    [Show full text]
  • 1586 Offshore Gas Storage.Qxd
    UK regulatory regime governing Offshore Gas Storage September 2008 Contents Introduction 3 Current Regulatory Regime 4 The Petroleum Act 1998 4 Use of the Sea-Bed and associated Geological Features: The Crown Estate 4 Safety regulations 4 Environment 5 Other consents 5 Connecting to the Grid: physical requirements 5 Connecting to the Grid: the Uniform Network Code Gas Transporter Licence 5 Third party access (“TPA”) to offshore gas storage 6 Exemptions 6 UK offshore gas storage precedent: the Rough facility 6 Building a Third Party Access Exemption Case 7 ‘Open Season’ procedure 7 Future reforms 9 The Energy Bill 2008 9 Storage in non-hydrocarbon features 10 Issues for gas storage developers to consider 11 Introduction This note provides an overview of the regulatory regime governing offshore gas storage in the UK. This note does not attempt to advise and should not be relied upon in relation to a particular course of action. CMS Cameron McKenna LLP would of course be delighted to so advise, upon instruction. This note contains copyright material and may not be reproduced or distributed without permission. Whilst the Gas Act 1986, Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other provisions have certain application for onshore gas storage facilities (depending on type), the UK government has acknowledged that the current regulatory framework for the offshore storage of natural gas is unclear and was not intended to cover the range of storage activities now contemplated. Whilst the Energy Act 2004 extended provisions to cover offshore storage facilities, to address the present lack of clarity the government is implementing a new regulatory regime under the Energy Bill 2008 designed specifically to cover offshore gas storage.
    [Show full text]
  • Southern Gas Networks Plc Scotland Gas
    PROSPECTUS SOUTHERN GAS NETWORKS PLC (incorporated with limited liability under the laws of England and Wales under registered number 05167021) SCOTLAND GAS NETWORKS PLC (incorporated with limited liability under the laws of Scotland under registered number SC264065) £5,000,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme Under the Euro Medium Term Note Programme described in this Prospectus (the “Programme”), each of Southern Gas Networks plc (“Southern GN”) and Scotland Gas Networks plc (“Scotland GN”) (together, the “Issuers” and each an “Issuer”), subject to compliance with all relevant laws, regulations and directives, may, from time to time, issue notes (“Notes”). The aggregate nominal amount of Notes outstanding will not at any time exceed £5,000,000,000 (or the equivalent in other currencies), subject to increase in accordance with the terms of the Programme Agreement (as defined herein). Application has been made to the Financial Conduct Authority in its capacity as competent authority under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the “UK Listing Authority”) for Notes issued under the Programme for the period of 12 months from the date of this Prospectus to be admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority (the “Official List”) and to the London Stock Exchange plc (the “London Stock Exchange”) for such Notes to be admitted to trading on the Regulated Market of the London Stock Exchange (the “Market”). References in this Prospectus to Notes being “listed” (and all related references) shall mean that such Notes have been admitted to trading on the Market. The Market is a regulated market for the purposes of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2004/39/EC.
    [Show full text]