Section 5 Prohibition on unlicensed activitiesF1

Subject to section 6A below and Schedule 2A to this Act, a person who—

shall be guilty of an offence unless he is authorised to do so by a licence.

The exceptions to subsection (1) above which are contained in Schedule 2A to this Act shall have effect.

A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

No proceedings shall be instituted in England and Wales in respect of an offence under this section except by or on behalf of the Secretary of State or the Director.

Any reference in this Part to the conveyance by any person of gas through pipes to any premises is a reference to the conveyance by him of gas through pipes to those premises with a view to the gas being supplied to those premises by any person, or being used in those premises by the holder of a licence under section 7A(2) below.

A reference in this Part to participating in the operation of a gas interconnector is a reference to—

For the purposes of subsection (6)(b) a person shall not be regarded as making something available just because he consents to its being made available by another.

In this Part “gas interconnector” means so much of any pipeline system as—

For the purposes of this section a place is within the jurisdiction of Great Britain if it is in Great Britain, in the territorial sea adjacent to Great Britain or in an area designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964.

In this section “pipe-line system” includes the pipes and any associated apparatus comprised in that system.

A reference in this Part to providing a smart meter communication service is a reference to making arrangements with each domestic supplier to provide a service, for such suppliers, of communicating relevant information to and from smart meters through which gas is supplied to domestic premises.

A reference in this Part to a person (“P”) performing the function of code manager in relation to a designated gas licence document is a reference to making arrangements, with the persons to whom subsection (11B) applies, under which P is responsible for the governance of the document.

This subsection applies to the holder of a licence for the purposes of section 5 where a condition of the licence—

In this section—

• F11“designated gas licence document” means a document that is—

  1. (a)

     maintained in accordance with the conditions of a licence for the purposes of section 5, and

  2. (b)

     designated under section 182 of the Energy Act 2023;

• “domestic supplier” means a gas supplier—

  1. (a)

     who is authorised, in accordance with the conditions of a licence, to supply gas to domestic premises; and

  2. (b)

     who supplies gas to domestic premises in accordance with that licence;

• “external electronic communications network” means a network which—

  1. (a)

     is an electronic communications network, within the meaning of section 32 of the Communications Act 2003; and

  2. (b)

     does not form part of a smart meter;

• “relevant information” means information relating to the supply of gas; F12...

• “smart meter” means—

  1. (a)

     a gas meter which can send and receive information using an external electronic communications network; or

  2. (b)

     a gas meter and a device which is associated with or ancillary to that meter and which enables information to be sent to and received by the meter using an external electronic communications network.