Energy Act 2023

Methods of enforcement

37 (1) The regulations may make provision about the enforcement of relevant conditions or relevant requirements.

(2) Regulations made by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) may, in particular, provide for the Regulator—

(a) in a case where the Regulator is satisfied that a relevant person is contravening or is likely to contravene a relevant condition or requirement, to make a final order requiring the person to take such steps as the Regulator considers appropriate for the purpose of securing the person’s compliance with the relevant condition or requirement;

(b) in a case where it appears to the Regulator that a relevant person is contravening or is likely to contravene a relevant condition or requirement, to make a provisional order requiring the person to take such steps as the Regulator considers appropriate for the purpose of securing compliance with the relevant condition or requirement;

(c) to impose a penalty on a relevant person for the contravention of a relevant condition or requirement;

(d) in relation to England and Wales and Scotland, in a case where the contravention of a relevant condition or requirement by a relevant person has caused or is causing one or more consumers to suffer loss or damage or to be caused inconvenience, to make an order (a “consumer redress order”) requiring the person to do such things as appear to the Regulator necessary for the purposes of—

(i) remedying the consequences of the contravention, or

(ii) preventing the person contravening the relevant condition or requirement again in the same or a similar way.

(3) Regulations made by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) may, in particular, provide for—

(a) the making of an order,

(b) the imposition of a penalty, or

(c) the making of a consumer redress order,

to be excluded if the Regulator considers that it would be more appropriate to proceed under the Competition Act 1998 (see paragraph 41).

(4) Regulations made by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) may, in particular, make provision about the use of more than one method of enforcement.

(5) Regulations made by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) may, in particular, make provision about enforcement in a case where a person who holds two or more heat network authorisations has contravened or is likely to contravene a relevant condition or requirement in those, or some of those, heat network authorisations.

(6) In this paragraph—

• “relevant condition” means a condition of—

  (a)

  a heat network authorisation,

  (b)

  a code manager licence, or

  (c)

  an installation and maintenance licence;

• “relevant person” means—

  (a)

  a person who holds a heat network authorisation,

  (b)

  a licensed code manager, or

  (c)

  a person who holds an installation and maintenance licence;

• “relevant requirement”, in relation to a relevant person, means a requirement imposed on the person by or under the regulations or by regulations made by the Regulator by virtue of any provision of this Schedule.