February 18, 2005—The British Government has consented to the sale by National Grid Transco (NGT) of four of its eight gas distribution networks, paving the way for consumer savings worth an estimated 225 million over 18 years from 2005, according to officials.
This follows the Authority’s decision to approve the sales under the same statutory duties.
The decision by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt comes almost two years after NGT announced its intention to sell between one and four of its distribution networks. Since this announcement, the Office for Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has been leading a major exercise to determine the potential benefits of such a sale. The DTI has been working closely with Ofgem and the Health and Safety Executive has been working on the safety aspects.
The sale would bring the structure of the gas industry more in line with the electricity sector, allowing Ofgem to perform “comparative regulation” when comparing the performance of different distribution networks in setting price controls.
