1. Theft on Shipper-less Sites
14th October 2008

2. Agenda Background Existing Obligations on Industry Parties
Theft on Shipper-less Sites
Questions

3. Background
We estimate that gas theft costs consumers as much as £220m per annum.
Rising wholesale prices increase the cost of theft
Evidence from our own revenue protection team is that theft on shipper-less sites is increasing
British Gas is developing a UNC modification to increase the effectiveness of the reasonable endeavours scheme

4. Existing Obligations on Industry Parties
Suppliers have a licence condition to inform the Transporter where it discovers or suspects theft of gas has taken place
Under schedule 2B (Gas Code) of the Gas Act Transporters have the power to “cut off the supply of gas” where any person:
Injures any gas fitting provided by the gas supplier
Alters an index to any meter
Prevents any such meter duly registering the quantity of gas conveyed
At industry discussions our competitors have actively diluted the ERA proposals to incentivise theft
Incur additional cost that they are unable to recover

5. Theft on Shipper-less Sites
Shipper-less site scenarios:
Theft on site that has never been registered and is not recorded on sites and meters
Theft on site where Shipper has removed meter and withdrawn from site
Theft on site where Shipper has not removed meter and withdrawn from site
Clarification is required on the rights and responsibilities of parties where theft is discovered on a shipper-less site (see questions on next slide)

6. Questions
How many sites have been withdrawn from where a meter is still in situ
How many sites have been identified as still using gas after a shipper has withdrawn and is supporting analysis available
What do xoserve do when in receipt of an allegation of theft on a shipper-less site
What happens when a Transporter engineer discovers an instance of theft?
Can the Transporters provide scenarios and volumes of theft discovered ?
Can the networks clarify the Gas Safety Regulation process for disconnecting sites and confirm timescales ?
Where “theft” is discovered what are Transporters powers to cut off shipper-less sites (prior to GSR) and what are the volumes ?
Confirm what training is given to Transporter engineers on “theft detection”
Clarify the process for dealing with open meter by-passes