§ Mr. AingerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what discussions he has had with the regulator of the gas industry about British Gas's policy on direct debit discounts to customers;
(2) what discussions he has had with the regulator of British Gas over the proposed differential pricing as it affects claimants and pensioners.
§ Mr. EggarNone. Gas price changes are a matter for the independent regulator, the Office of Gas Supply. The Director General of Gas Supply has confirmed that the discount tariff, for those customers paying by direct debit, meets the terms of the "tariff formula" which limits the prices which British Gas can charge to tariff customers and is within the provisions of section 14(3) of the Gas Act 1986 which relate to undue discrimination against any group of consumers.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received on the declared policy of British Gas to reward those customers who pay by direct debit and penalise those who pay by other means.
§ Mr. EggarA substantial number of written representations have been received by my Department from gas consumers and their Members of Parliament about British Gas's discount tariff which is available to those customers paying by direct debit.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the proposed price per therm for(a) those British Gas customers who pay by direct debit and (b) those who pay by other means; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleBritish Gas's tariffs will be:
- (a) 1.433p per kilowatt hour for those customers paying by direct debit.
- (b) 1.520p per kilowatt hour for customers who pay by other means.
Note: British Gas's prices are now quoted in the metric unit kWh rather than therms.
The standing charge will be 10.10p per day for customers on the discount tariff and 10.39p per day for standard tariff customers. The new prices will be introduced on 1 January 1995.