The Electricity and Gas (Internal Markets) Regulations 2011
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2011/2704 |
| Year | 2011 |
2011 No. 2704
Electricity
Gas
The Electricity and Gas (Internal Markets) Regulations 2011
Made 9th November 2011
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1(1)
The Secretary of State is designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to energy and energy sources.
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of, and paragraph 1A of Schedule 2 to, that Act.
These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of that Act and it appears to the Secretary of State that it is expedient for any reference in these Regulations to an Annex to the following instruments to be construed as a reference to that Annex as amended from time to time—
(a) Regulation 2009/714/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity and repealing Regulation 2003/1228/EC3,
(b) Regulation 2009/715/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks and repealing Regulation 2005/1775/EC4, as amended by Commission Decision 2010/685/EU of 10 November 2010 amending Chapter 3 of Annex I to Regulation 2009/715/EC5, and
(c) Commission Regulation 2010/838/EU of 23 September 2010 on laying down guidelines relating to the inter-transmission system operator compensation mechanism and a common regulatory approach to transmission charging6.
These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of that Act and it appears to the Secretary of State that it is expedient for any reference in these Regulations to an Annex to the following instruments to be construed as a reference to that Annex as amended from time to time—
(a) Regulation 2009/714/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity and repealing Regulation 2003/1228/EC3,
(b) Regulation 2009/715/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks and repealing Regulation 2005/1775/EC4, as amended by Commission Decision 2010/685/EU of 10 November 2010 amending Chapter 3 of Annex I to Regulation 2009/715/EC5, and
(c) Commission Regulation 2010/838/EU of 23 September 2010 on laying down guidelines relating to the inter-transmission system operator compensation mechanism and a common regulatory approach to transmission charging6.
PART 1
Introductory provisions
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Electricity and Gas (Internal Markets) Regulations 2011 and come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.
(2) These Regulations, except regulation 3, do not extend to Northern Ireland.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations, “standard condition” in relation to—
(a) a licence granted under section 7, 7ZA or 7A(1) of the Gas Act 19867, means a condition which by virtue of section 81(2) of the Utilities Act 20008or section 137(3) or 150(5) of the Energy Act 20049is a standard condition for the purposes of that licence;
(b) a licence granted under section 6(1)(b) to (e) of the Electricity Act 198910, means a condition which by virtue of section 33(1) of the Utilities Act 200011or section 146(5) of the Energy Act 2004 is a standard condition for the purposes of that licence.
PART 2
Consumer protection
National Consumer Council to provide guidance to energy consumers
3.—(1) The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 200712is amended as follows.
(2) After section 19 insert—
“Guidance for energy consumers
19A.—(1) The Council must prepare, and keep under review—
(a)
(a) guidance for energy consumers (the “energy consumer guidance”), and
(b)
(b) a summary prepared in accordance with subsection (4) (the “concise guidance”).
(2) The energy consumer guidance must address the matters included in any document published by the European Commission pursuant to Article 3(16) of the Electricity Directive or Article 3(12) of the Gas Directive.
(3) The energy consumer guidance may include any other information relating to the rights of energy consumers which the Council thinks appropriate.
(4) The concise guidance must—
(a)
(a) summarise any information in the energy consumer guidance which in the Council’s view is particularly relevant to the interests of energy consumers, and
(b)
(b) state where a copy of the energy consumer guidance can be obtained.
(5) In preparing and reviewing the energy consumer guidance and the concise guidance the Council must consult—
(a)
(a) the Secretary of State,
(b)
(b) the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, and
(c)
(c) any other person the Council considers appropriate.
(6) The Council must publish the first version of the energy consumer guidance and the concise guidance on its website by 1 December 2011.
(7) If, following a review, the Council considers it necessary to amend the energy consumer guidance or the concise guidance, the Council must, as soon as is reasonably practicable—
(a)
(a) publish the amended version on its website, and
(b)
(b) inform any person it consulted in accordance with subsection (5) that it has done so.
(8) The Council may also make the first and any amended version of the energy consumer guidance and the concise guidance available in any other manner the Council thinks appropriate for the purpose of bringing that guidance to the attention of those likely to be interested.
(9) In this section—
“the Electricity Directive” means Directive 2009/72/ECof the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC13;
“energy consumer” means an individual who is—
(a) a consumer in relation to gas supplied by an authorised supplier for consumption by the consumer’s own household;
(b) a consumer in relation to electricity supplied by an authorised supplier for consumption by the consumer’s own household;
“the Gas Directive” means Directive 2009/73/ECof the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC14.”.
(3) In section 29(4) (exceptions to restriction on disclosure of information)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (c) omit “or 24(8)”;
(b)
(b) after paragraph (c) insert—
“(ca)
“(ca) published or made available by the Council under any of subsections (6) to (8) of section 19A,
(cb)
(cb) published by the Council under section 24(8),”.
(4) In section 65(2) (provisions extending to England and Wales and Scotland only), after paragraph (b) insert—
“(ba)
“(ba) section 19A (guidance for energy consumers);”.
PART 3
Transmission and the operation of interconnectors
Gas transmission and the operation of gas interconnectors: independence
4. After section 8B of the Gas Act 198615insert—
“Gas transmission and the operation of gas interconnectors: independence(8C) Requirement for certain gas transporters and operators of gas interconnectors to be certified as independent(1) A person who, for any period on or after the relevant date, holds a licence under section 7 and carries out transmission of gas must ensure that the person is certified by the Authority under section 8F throughout that period.(2) A person who, for any period on or after the relevant date, holds a licence under section 7ZA and participates in the operation of a gas interconnector must ensure that the person is certified by the Authority under section 8F throughout that period.(3) In subsections (1) and (2) the “relevant date” in respect of a person is 3 March 2012 or any later date before 4 March 2013 which the Authority specifies under subsection (4) or (5) in respect of the person.(4) The Authority may specify a later date in respect of a person if—(a) the person has asked the Authority to specify a later date;(b) the person is not, and is not part of, a vertically integrated undertaking; and(c) no senior officer of the person is also a senior officer of a relevant producer or supplier.(5) The Authority may also specify a later date in respect of a person if the Authority thinks that, for reasons beyond its and the person’s control, the Authority will not reasonably be able to make a final decision before 3 March 2012 as to whether to certify the person.(6) In this section—(a) “transmission” has the meaning given by Article 2(3) of the Gas Directive; and(b) “vertically integrated undertaking” has the meaning given by Article 2(20) of that Directive.(8D) Application for certification(1) Any person may apply for certification.(2) An application for certification—(a) must be made in writing to the Authority; and(b) must be made in such form and contain such information as the Authority may specify.(3) If the application is made on or after 3 March 2013 and the applicant is a person from a third country or a person controlled by a person from a third country, the Authority must, as soon as is reasonably practicable after receiving the application—(a) notify the Secretary of State and the European Commission that an application has been made by such a person; and(b) enclose with the notification to the Secretary of State any information which, at the time of the notification, the Authority has in its possession and thinks is relevant to the...
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