Regulation 2 Interpretation

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,

• “the Act” means the Gas Act 1986;

• “applicable date” means, in relation to each occasion upon which a regulation applies, the day upon which that regulation first applies, or, where a prescribed period in a paragraph of a regulation is expressed in hours, the time on that day when that regulation first applies;

• “appropriate meter” means a meter stamped in accordance with the provisions of section 17^f1 of the Act or regulations made pursuant to that section;

• “the Authority” means the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority;

• “Consumer Council” means the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council;

• “customer” means an owner or occupier of premises in Great Britain who is supplied or requiring to be supplied with gas conveyed to those premises through pipes;

• “domestic customer” means a customer supplied or requiring to be supplied with gas at domestic premises (but excluding such customer in so far as he is supplied or requires to be supplied at premises other than domestic premises);

• “domestic premises” means premises at which a supply is taken or to be taken wholly or mainly for domestic purposes;

• “gas supplier” means, in relation to any premises, a gas supplier who supplies to those premises gas which is conveyed thereto (or, where the premises are secondary sub-deduct premises, to the relevant primary sub-deduct premises) by a gas transporter;

• “margins of error” means, in relation to a meter, operating outside the standards prescribed pursuant to the Gas (Meters) Regulations 1983^f2

• “pay” includes crediting the account of the customer for charges incurred or to be incurred in respect of the supply or in respect of the provision of any gas meter, and “payment” shall be construed accordingly;

• “prescribed period” means, in a paragraph or sub-paragraph of a regulation, the period in column 2 of Part I of the Schedule opposite the reference to that paragraph or sub-paragraph of the regulation in column 1 of Part I of the Schedule;

• “prescribed sum” means, in a paragraph or sub-paragraph of a regulation, the amount in column 3 of Part I of the Schedule, opposite the reference to that paragraph or sub-paragraph of the regulation in column 1 of Part I of the Schedule;

• “primary sub-deduct premises” means premises to which gas is conveyed by a gas transporter before being conveyed to secondary sub-deduct premises;

• “secondary sub-deduct premises” means premises to which gas is conveyed in pursuance of an exemption from section 5(1)(a)^f3 of the Act granted under section 6A^f4 of the Act, for supply by the gas supplier;

• “specified time” means—

  1. (a)

     unless sub-paragraph (b) applies, a part (specified by the gas supplier) of a day (also specified by the gas supplier) within the prescribed period from the applicable date, being either a part which falls either wholly before one o'clock in the afternoon or wholly after noon, or a part not exceeding two hours, or

  2. (b)

     such part of a day (whether or not within that period) as is requested by the customer and agreed with the supplier, such agreement not to be unreasonably withheld,

  Provided—

  1. (i)

     that a part of a day may be a specified time for the purpose of a regulation notwithstanding that it was requested, agreed or specified prior to the time at which that regulation first applied; and

  2. (ii)

     that the gas supplier shall not be obliged to agree part of a day less than two hours;

• “working day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday within the meaning of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971^f5; and

• “working hours” means the period between the hours specified in Part II of the Schedule.

In these Regulations “the Schedule” means the Schedule, to these Regulations.

Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation in these Regulations bearing that number; and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph or sub-paragraph is a reference to the paragraph or sub-paragraph of the regulation bearing that number.

For the purpose of these Regulations—