Utilities Act 2000

Utilities Act 2000
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to provide for the establishment and functions of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority and the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council; to amend the legislation regulating the gas and electricity industries; and for connected purposes.
Citation2000 c. 27
Territorial extent England and Wales & Scotland (except amendments & repeals)[1]
Dates
Royal assent28 July 2000
Other legislation
Repeals/revokesFossil Fuel Levy Act 1998
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Utilities Act 2000 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Utilities Act 2000[2] (c. 27) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that deals with the gas and electrical markets in the UK. It mainly modified the Gas Act 1986, the Gas Act 1995 and Electricity Act 1989. One of the greatest changes was that integrated electricity companies were required to have separate licences for each of their businesses such as supply or distribution. The act was originally supposed to deal with water and telecoms as well, but following industry pressure they were dropped.[citation needed]

Section 105 of the Act[3] is intended to protect national security; it prohibits the disclosure of certain types of evidence relevant to the energy sector, with penalties of fines and up to two years' imprisonment for breaches. The section has been used by Ofgem to threaten whistleblowers informing their managers and the National Audit Office of misspends of millions of pounds.[4][5] The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the law contravened the European Convention on Human Rights.[6]

  1. ^ "Utilities Act 2000: Section 110", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2000 c. 27 (s. 110) (4) and (5)
  2. ^ "Utilities Act 2000", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2000 c. 27
  3. ^ "Utilities Act 2000: Section 105", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2000 c. 27 (s. 105)
  4. ^ Curwen, Lesley; Lewis, David (13 November 2018). "Millions 'misspent on green energy abuse'". BBC News.
  5. ^ Nick Hopkins (17 September 2018). "Ofgem exploited national security law to silence us, whistleblowers claim". The Guardian.
  6. ^ "Utilities Act Is Incompatible With European Convention on Human Rights". Bindmans LLP. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2019.