1. These Regulations may be cited as the Gas (Meters) (Amendment) Regulations 1988, and shall come into force on 1st July 1988.

2. The Gas (Meters) Regulations 1983(2) (hereinafter referred to as "the Principal Regulations") shall have effect subject to the amendments set out in regulations 3 and 4 below.

3. The following regulation shall be substituted for regulation 5 in the Principal Regulations-

"Fees

5.-(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (2) to (8) below, the fee to be paid to the Secretary of State for examining or re-examining by a meter examiner, with or without stamping, a meter described in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations used or intended to be used for ascertaining the quantity of gas supplied to any person shall be the corresponding fee specified in column 2 of that Schedule.

(2) Where the meter has not been delivered to the office of a meter examiner for the purpose of examination or re-examination, there shall be paid the Secretary of State, in addition to any fee payable under paragraph (1) above, a fee equivalent to the amount of-

(a)all reasonable expenses, including incidental expenses, incurred by the meter examiner, and any other meter examiner assisting him in the examination, in travelling to and from the premises at which the meter is situated, in preparing for the examination of the meter or in dismantling any equipment used therefor, and

(b)a sum calculated at the rate of £13.70 for every hour, or part of an hour exceeding thirty minutes, spent by the examiner and any such other meter examiner respectively in such travelling, preparing or dismantling.

(3) Where the meter is required to be re-examined by a party to such a dispute as is mentioned in regulation 4(1) above, there shall be paid to the Secretary of State, in addition to any fee payable under paragraph (1) or (2) above, a fee of £2.70.

(4) Where the meter incorporates electro-mechanical compensating devices which cause its register to indicate the quantity of gas passing through it as if the gas were at a particular temperature or pressure or both, there shall be paid to the Secretary of State, in addition to any fee payable under paragraphs (1) to (3) above-

(a)where the meter is a prototype submitted for approval of its pattern and construction or is a modified prototype so submitted which, prior to modification, had already been examined by a meter examiner, a fee of £375; and

(b)where the meter is not such a prototype, a fee of £30.

(5) Where the meter is marked in a manner referred to in regulation 3(2), there shall be paid to the Secretary of State, in addition to any fee payable under paragraphs (1) to (4) above-

(a)where the meter is a prototype submitted for approval of its pattern and construction not being a modified prototype so submitted which, prior to modification, had already been examined by a meter examiner, a fee of £2,500; and

(b)where the meter is such a modified prototype or is not a prototype so submitted, a fee of £200.

(6) Where the meter cannot properly be examined or re-examined without the aid of equipment which is not in the possession of the meter examiner, there shall be paid to the Secretary of State, in addition to any fee payable under paragraphs (1) to (5) above, a fee equivalent to the amount of-

(a)all reasonable expenses incurred by the examiner in procuring the use of such equipment as is needed; and

(b)except where a fee is payable in respect of preparing and dismantling the equipment under paragraph (2)(b) above, a sum calculated at the rate of £13.70 for every hour, or part of an hour exceeding 30 minutes, spent by the examiner and any other meter examiner assisting him in the examination, in preparing the equipment for use for the purpose of the examination or in dismantling it subsequently.

(7) Where the meter-

(a)is a prototype submitted for approval of its pattern and construction or is a modified prototype so submitted which, prior to modification, had already been examined by a meter examiner, and

(b)its durability is tested at the office of the meter examiner,

there shall be paid to the Secretary of State, in addition to any fee payable under paragraphs (1) to (6) above, a fee equivalent to the costs of obtaining the fuel used for the purpose of the test.

(8) Subject to the provisions of paragraph 4(4) of Schedule 5 to the Gas Act 1986, any fee payable under paragraphs (1) to (7) above shall be paid on demand by the person who requires the meter to be examined or re-examined.

(9) Where any person requires the re-examination of any meter not owned by him through which gas is supplied to him and that meter, when examined on the premises at which it is situated for the purpose of ascertaining the quantity of gas, is found to register erroneously to a degree exceeding the degree permissible under regulation 3(1)(b)(i) or (c) above, the owner of the meter shall pay to that person the amount of all fees paid by him under this regulation.

(10) The fee to be paid to the Secretary of State for stamping a meter described in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations (not being a prototype or a modified prototype) which has not been examined or re-examined by a meter examiner, and which is used or intended to be used for ascertaining the quantity of gas supplied to any person, shall be the corresponding fee specified in column 2 of that Schedule.

(11) Any fee payable under paragraph (10) above shall be paid on demand by the person who requires the meter to be stamped."

4. The following Schedule shall be substituted for Schedule 1 to the Principal Regulations-

Regulation 5(1) and (10)

"SCHEDULE 1FEES

Note

In this Schedule-

(a)"a modified prototype" means a prototype which, prior to modification, has already been examined by a meter examiner;

(b)"a rotary positive displacement meter" means a meter constructed so that it contains a rotating partition; and

(c)"a turbine meter" means a meter constructed so that it contains a turbine wheel."

5. The Gas (Meters) (Variation of Fees) Regulations 1984(3) are hereby revoked.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the provisions relating to fees contained in regulation 5 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Gas (Meters) Regulations 1983 ("the 1983 Regulations").

The revised regulation 5, substituted in the 1983 Regulations by regulation 3 of these Regulations, incorporates increases in four of the fees provided for. The amounts increased are those in respect of time spent by a meter examiner in travelling, and in preparing for an examination (increased from £9.80 to £13.70); in respect of the examination of a meter which is the subject of a dispute (increased from £1.50 to £2.70); and in respect of the examination of prototypes of certain special kinds of meter (increased from £300 to £375 and from £2,000 to £2,500). Additional charges are introduced to recover the cost of obtaining and preparing special equipment which is needed to examine particular meters, and also the cost of fuel used in testing the durability of prototype meters.

Schedule 1 to the 1983 Regulations is replaced by a Schedule specifying higher examination and re-examination fees. The increase over the sums prescribed in 1983 is approximately 25% in the case of prototype meters, and in the case of modified prototypes the fee has been increased from 10% to 20% of the fee charged for prototypes; in the case of other meters there is no increase for the smallest-capacity meters (the size generally used in connection with domestic gas supplies) and for the larger-capacity meters there is an increase of approximately 11% over sums prescribed by amending regulations in 1984 (the 1984 Regulations are revoked by regulation 5 of these Regulations). The fees specified in the Schedule in respect of meters which are not prototypes or modified prototypes are also payable where a meter is stamped as conforming with prescribed standards but has not been examined by a meter examiner.