Britain's energy regulator proposed imposing fines totalling more than 5 million pounds ($7.85 million) on two
British gas network operators for failing to respond in time to customer gas leaks, the authority said on Wednesday.
National Grid Gas could be fined up to 4.3 million pounds and Northern Gas Networks 900,000 pounds for not meeting minimum times to respond to reported gas escapes between April 2010 and March 2011.
The proposals are subject to a 21-day consultation period during which the companies can dispute the amount of the fines.
"Penalties would have been higher had it not been for the companies' cooperation with the investigation and action taken by them ahead of this winter," Ofgem said.
Gas distribution networks have to respond to 97 percent of uncontrolled gas escapes within one hour and 97 percent of controlled leaks (which means the customer was able to resolve a problem following advice over the phone) within two hours.
National Grid, which reached 92.1-96.1 percent of uncontrolled gas leaks on time across its four networks, blamed its low score on last winter's harsh weather.
"We take our responsibility to attend and manage gas escapes very seriously, and we have learned lessons from last year that we have embedded into the improved plans we have put in place for this coming winter," said John Pettigrew, chief operating officer of National Grid's gas distribution business.
The network company said it had started winter planning earlier this year, hired more staff and improved its communication systems to better its response performance.
Northern Gas Networks, in which Hong-Kong listed Cheung Kung Infrastructure holds a 47.1 percent stake, responded to 91.6 percent of uncontrolled gas leaks within the one-hour target and 94.3 percent of controlled cases.
"We've completed a thorough review of our business and resources and put the lessons learnt into a new plan for this winter," Northern Gas Networks Chief Executive Mark Horsley said.
Energy regulator Ofgem is the UK's gas and electricity market watchdog and has the power to fine companies which fail to comply with regulations up to 10 percent of annual turnover.
In October, Ofgem fined utility RWE npower 2 million pounds for failing to handle customer complaints properly.
21/12/2011 - reuters.co.uk
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