I WOULD like to sound a note of caution to anyone rubbing their hands in glee in anticipation of a reduction in their gas bills in the light of recent announcements by the industry regulator, Ofgas.

For as an employee of British Gas TransCo, which runs the country's gas pipelines, it is clear to me that Ofgas's proposal to reduce the charge we make for moving gas through our system will bring nothing like the benefits promised.

For a start, there is no guarantee that the price reduction will be passed on to consumers by the gas shippers to bring about the much publicised £30 reduction in bills.

And on top of this disappointment, customers could see a fall in the standards of service provided by TransCo as a result of the price cuts proposed by Ofgas.

This is a worry, because in addition to maintaining the pipeline system, TransCo is also responsible for the providing the gas emergency service which aims to respond to all reports of uncontrolled gas escapes within an hour.

I would hope that all your readers would agree that a decline in these standards could be fatal and that even a £30 reduction in bills would be poor compensation for any casualties which occur.

JEANETTE UNSWORTH (Miss), Portway, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.