25th Apr 2005 15:29
OFGEM25 April 2005 R/21 April 25 2005 OFGEM APPROVES NEXT STAGE OF NGT'S SALE OF FOUR OF ITS GAS DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS Ofgem has today (Monday) announced its approval of the next stage of theregulatory process to allow the sale of four of National Grid Transco's (NGT)gas distribution networks to proceed. In January this year, Ofgem's Authority conditionally approved the sale afterextensive consultation and a Regulatory Impact Assessment showed that customers'interests could be protected. NGT has now substantially satisfied the conditions attached to the Authority'sapproval which it was required to meet before being permitted to hive-down itsdistribution network assets into four wholly-owned Transco subsidiary companies.It is expected that hive-down will occur on 1 May. NGT will then need to meet the remaining conditions set by the Authority beforeit is able to sell the shares in the four companies to the relevant third partypurchasers, which is anticipated to occur on 1 June 2005. ends Notes 1. Ofgem will later today issue an open letter setting out the reasons for itsdecision to approve the next stage of the sale. Copies of this document "Ofgemapproves next stage of sale of NGT's Gas Distribution Networks" will beavailable on the Ofgem website www.ofgem.gov.uk. Hard copies can be ordered fromthe Ofgem distribution centre on 020 7901 7116 or by email [email protected] 2. Ofgem is the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets, which supports theGas and Electricity Markets Authority, the regulator of the gas and electricityindustries in Great Britain. Ofgem's aim is to bring choice and value to all gasand electricity customers by promoting competition and regulating monopolies.The Authority's powers are provided for under the Gas Act 1986 and theElectricity Act 1989, as amended by the Utilities Act 2000 as well as under theCompetition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002. For further press information contact: Mark Wiltsher on 020 7901 7006/Out of hours (07774 728971)Chris Lock 020 7901 7225/Out of hours (07766 511470) This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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