Commentary on provisions of the Act Section 6: Modifications of particular or standard conditions
Subsection (1) enables the Secretary of State to modify the conditions of any gas or electricity licence held by a particular person and the standard conditions of gas or electricity licences in relation to the new regime for smart meter communication licensee administration. The modifications that can be made are specified in Section 7, and include the making of incidental, consequential or transitional modifications.
	Subsection (3) requires the Secretary of State to consult the holder of any licence being modified and anyone else he thinks appropriate before making a modification. Subsection (4) enables the consultation to take place before the commencement of these provisions. Subsections (5) and (6) require the Secretary of State to publish the modifications made under this Section.
	Subsection (8) requires that where the Secretary of State has made modifications to the standard conditions of gas or electricity licences of any type, the Authority must ensure that the modifications are incorporated into the standard conditions for future grants of licences and must publish these modifications.
	Subsection (9) limits the exercise of the powers under this Section to eighteen months after commencement of the Section.
	Subsections (10) and (11) provide that modifications made under this Section to standard conditions of (i) electricity generation, distribution and supply licences and (ii) gas transporter, supply and shipping licences, are reflected in the sections of the Utilities Act 2000 which govern the standard conditions of those licences.
	Subsections (12) and (13) require the Secretary of State to act for the purposes of this Section in accordance with the principal objective to protect the interests of consumers and general duties as set out in the Gas Act 1986 and Electricity Act 1989.