Explore this Work Programme:
Overview
The deployment of smart gas meters, the evolution of the D+1 pilot and the potential injection of renewable gases into downstream networks require changes to gas governance arrangements so that they remain fit for purpose
We are in the process of amending two of our key sets of gas governance arrangements—the Gas (Downstream Reconciliation) Rules 2008 and the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008—to ensure they remain fit-for-purpose as technology, supply and commercial arrangements evolve in the downstream gas market.
Key areas for this Work Programme
Recommendation to the Minister
This section contains our Statement of Proposal on Changes to Gas Governance Arrangements and the subsequent Recommendation to the Minister, along with the feedback received from stakeholder consultation. The Minister approved our Recommendation in February 2025.
Following the Minister's approval of our recommendation, we began translating the high-level proposals into detailed rule changes. We made a first consultation draft of the rule changes available to industry participants in mid-June 2026 and received useful feedback on drafting and implementation issues.
Further background to the development of the gas governance rule changes can be found in the individual work programme sections of our website:
Recommendation to Minister
The deployment of smart gas meters, the evolution of the D+1 pilot and the potential injection of renewable gases requires changes to the Rules so that that they remain fit for purpose.
Recommendation to the Minister for Energy
Following our Statement of Proposal released in February 2024, the Minister for Energy has approved the recommendation for amendments to gas governance arrangements, sent to him in November 2024.
The purpose of these amendments is to ensure that the Rules remain fit for purpose as technology, gas supply and commercial arrangements evolve in the downstream gas market. The proposals were shaped by a series of industry working groups and consultation opportunities over the last few years and have been generally well supported by gas industry stakeholders.
You can view the Gas Governance Changes Recommendation to the Minister below.
Statement of Proposal
The Statement of Proposal presented a coordinated set of changes to the Gas (Downstream Reconciliation) Rules 2008, the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 and associated industry IT systems. The proposal responds to market-led initiatives, such as the rollout of advanced gas metering, and were informed by industry discussions and working groups.
The consultation closed on Friday 23 February 2024. Six submissions were received, and these can be viewed below.
Related documents
First Consultation Draft
On 16 June 2026, we released our first draft of changes to the Reconciliation Rules and Switching Rules that incorporate the proposals approved by the Minister for Energy in February 2025. We presented these changes to industry stakeholders at a workshop on 27 June and invited submissions by 31 July.
We received 11 submissions from 9 industry participants, these are published below.