§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the capacity of the British Gas Corporation's (a) overall pipeline network, (b) high pressure mains and (c) medium pressure mains; and how much capacity is currently surplus to market requirements.
§ Mr. MellorThe capacity of the British Gas Corporation's main transmission network is designed to meet the contracted quantity of supplies of gas from the North Sea. This is currently between 7,000 and 8,000 mcfd. The capacity of BGC's medium-pressure and local distribution networks is in general designed to meet local gas supply commitments. The amount of surplus capacity 421W will depend on the extent to which actual demand falls short of the capacity to convey the contracted quantity of North Sea gas; this will vary from time to time.