On 10 November 2015 National Grid plc (NG) announced the commencement of a process for the intended sale of a majority stake in its gas distribution network (GDN) business. The first stage of this process is for National Grid Gas (NGG) to transfer its gas distribution assets and licence to a wholly owned subsidiary company of NG, often referred to as a hive across.
On 23 June 2016 NGG submitted a formal notice to us for consent to transfer its gas distribution licence under section 8AA of the Gas Act 1986 (the Act). We are therefore commencing two statutory consultations to seek stakeholder views before deciding whether to:
These consultations follow on from our decision on 6 July, following careful review of stakeholder feedback, to grant conditional consent to NGG to transfer its assets to the new subsidiary (to take place on or after 1 October 2016).
Please submit your responses to NGGD.Separation@ofgem.gov.uk by 9 September 2016.