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EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations authorise the sharing of data between the Secretary of State and electricity suppliers and should be read in conjunction with the Warm Home Discount Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/1033) (the “Warm Home Regulations”) which enable the Secretary of State to require certain electricity suppliers (essentially, those who hold a licence under section 6(1)(d) of the Electricity Act 1989) to provide a rebate to certain customers who are in receipt of state pension credit (or who have a partner who is in receipt of state pension credit).

These Regulations authorise the Secretary of State to supply to an electricity supplier information about persons whom the Secretary of State believes are ‘qualifying customers’ of that supplier. Regulation 3 explains who are qualifying customers for this purpose.

Regulation 4 allows an electricity supplier to provide information about its domestic customers to the Secretary of State to enable the Secretary of State to match the electricity supplier’s list of customers with the Secretary of State’s list of recipients of state pension credit. This is to enable the Secretary of State to identify the supplier’s customers whom the Secretary of State believes to be qualifying customers. By virtue of regulation 5, the Secretary of State can supply information about such persons identified as qualifying customers of a supplier to that supplier, who is then obliged to provide those customers with a rebate by virtue of (and in accordance with) the Warm Home Regulations. Regulation 4 also permits the supply of customer information by electricity suppliers to the Secretary of State to enable the testing of data matching processes by the Secretary of State.

Regulations 6 and 7 create offences for improper disclosure of information that has been shared between the Secretary of State and electricity suppliers by virtue of these Regulations, as well as setting out defences that may be available.

Regulation 8 revokes the State Pension Credit (Disclosure of Information) (Electricity Suppliers) Regulations 2010, which are superseded by these Regulations.

An impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as no impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen.