The conduction behaviour of different compositions of the Bi1‑xTex system with 30 ⩽x ⩽ 60 at.% is ohmic. Transition from metallic to semiconducting behaviour could be observed as the ambient temperature exceeds a certain value dependent on both x and the conditions of annealing. The activation energy of conduction (ΔEσ) calculated in the semiconducting region varied with x in an unsequential manner emphasizing the role of the existing different phases. However, the change in electrical conductivity could be attributed to a corresponding change in ΔE