Notice of decision on modifications to Condition 42 of the SONI TSO Licence
| Published date | 01 February 2024 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Energy Sector | Electricity Networks |
Article 14(8) Notice
Decision published on modifications to the electricity transmission
licence held by SONI Limited pursuant to Article 14(8) of the
Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (as amended)
In accordance with Article 14(2) of the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 ("the
Order") the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation ("the Authority")
published on 20 October 2023 a notice ("the Consultation Notice") of its intention
to modify Condition 42 of the electricity transmission licence ("the Licence") held by
SONI Limited ("the Licensee").
The modifications proposed were published alongside the Consultation Notice.
In accordance with Article 14(5) of the Order the Authority has now considered the
representations duly made to it following the publication of the Consultation Notice
and has decided to proceed with the making of modifications to Condition 42 of the
Licence, in exercise of its powers under Article 14(1) of the Order.
In accordance with Article 14(8) of the Order the Authority hereby gives notice as
follows –
1. The Authority has decided to proceed with the making of the modifications
proposed to Condition 42.
2. The effect of the modifications is to:
a) remove the existing provisions in Part F which state that each date
specified in the Condition is modified in the event that an
(unsuccessful) appeal has been made to the Competition and
Markets Authority (CMA) by the Licensee under Article 14B of the
Order in respect of the Authority's decision to modify the Licence to
include Condition 42;
b) introduce a new Part F which enables the Authority to modify the
Condition, by giving a direction to the Licensee, to the effect that any
date or period of time specified in the Condition is changed to a later
date or a longer period (as the case may be); and
c) make certain minor consequential changes to the introductory text of
the Condition, the definitions used in the Condition, and its paragraph
numbering.
3. The reasons why the Authority has decided to modify the Licence are as
follows:
a) the existing provisions at Part F of the Condition, referred to in
paragraph 4(a) above, are no longer needed as they relate to a
situation (namely an appeal to the CMA against the original decision
of the Authority to include the Condition in the Licence) which did not
occur and cannot now occur;
b) the dates and periods of time currently specified in the Condition are
premised on the Licensee having been able to ensure that a new
board of the Licensee was constituted in accordance with the
requirements of Part A by 1 June 2023;
c) in practice, the new board of the Licensee was not constituted in
accordance with the requirements of Part A of Condition 42 until 1
October 2023;
d) the Authority considers it essential that the newly constituted board of
the Licensee – given that it will need time to be fully informed on
matters relating to the provisions and requirements of the Condition,
and given the importance of it bringing its independent perspective to
bear on how best to achieve compliance with those requirements –
has an adequate amount of time to consider and make its decisions
on such matters;
e) given the delay in the appointment of the new board, the current
timetable mapped out in the Condition is unlikely to facilitate the board
having an adequate amount of time to consider and make its
decisions on matters relating to the Condition;
f) the Authority considers it necessary and appropriate to take a flexible
power to change the dates and time periods (such that they can only
be extended and not shortened) by direction, so that it can respond to
this delay and ensure that the board has adequate time to carry out its
tasks;
g) the Authority considers it necessary and appropriate to be able to
exercise this power on more than one occasion, so that it can be
responsive to any unavoidable future delay in implementation of the
Condition; and
h) the Authority is provisionally satisfied that the proposed modifications
involve changes which are best calculated to meet its statutory
objectives and duties at Article 12 of the Energy (Northern Ireland)
2003, most notably because it will be in the interests of consumers in
Northern Ireland for the board of the Licensee to have adequate time
to consider and make decisions on how best to achieve compliance
with the Condition.
4. The Authority received one response to the Consultation Notice – from
SONI. SONI’s response indicated that it agreed with the UR’s approach of
allowing flexibility in the date and time periods in Condition 42 and
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