"Improve access to mains gas network"

3.22.32pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 19th Jan 2007

Welsh Liberal Democrat AM for Brecon and Radnorshire, Kirsty Williams, is calling for more to be done to help those in rural areas access natural gas pipelines.

Many homes in the constituency are not connected to the gas network, leaving householders reliant on propane gas or oil heating systems.

Ms Williams said: "The current charging regime makes individual customers responsible for the cost of a new connection to a pipeline, putting that out of the reach of most people. I have written to the industry regulator to ask them to re-examine the situation, to see if it is not possible to lower connection prices, or to change how charges are distributed, to make mains gas accessible to more households."

Notes:

Ms Williams has been in correspondence with utilities company Wales and West about this issue, who have told her that in their opinion the current charging regime is inappropriate, and that it should be possible to make connection more affordable for individuals. Ms Williams has therefore written to Ofgem, the industry regulator, to see what changes they could make.