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Supreme Court refuses National Grid appeal on gas meter contracts case Ofgem has welcomed a decision by the Supreme Court refusing National Grid permission to appeal the Court of Appeal's findings that the company breached competition law in the gas meter market. In February this year, and following a failed appeal by National Grid to the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the Court of Appeal ruled that National Grid acted uncompetitively in the domestic gas metering market. The Court of Appeal fully endorsed the findings of Ofgem's Competition Act 1998 investigation into the company, published in 2008. The effect of the Court of Appeal's ruling is that suppliers will be free to renegotiate the terms of metering contracts with National Grid Gas. Following the Court of Appeal's decision, National Grid sought permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court has refused this request. This ends the legal avenues open to National Grid. The penalty of £15 million imposed by the Court of Appeal on National Grid is the highest financial penalty for abuse of dominance imposed in the UK to date. A spokesman for National Grid said: "We're disappointed... We must, however, accept the Supreme Court's decision while maintaining our view that our gas metering contracts have delivered substantial financial benefits to customers in the form of lower metering prices and have neither harmed consumers nor competition." Source: Utility Week © Faversham House Group Ltd 2010. News articles may be copied or forwarded
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