Energy (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2004

Payment as alternative to complying with order under Article 52

7.  In Article 55 (payment as alternative to complying with order under Article 52) –

(a) in paragraph (1) for the words from “that” onwards substitute –

“(a) that a designated electricity supplier may (in whole or in part) discharge his renewables obligation by making a payment to the Authority before the day specified as the day by which evidence must be produced for the purposes of Article 52(2); and

(b) that a designated electricity supplier’s renewables obligation that was not discharged in whole or in part before the day so specified is to be treated as having been discharged to the extent specified in the order where the payment for which the order provides is made to the Authority before the end of such period beginning with that day as may be specified in the order.”;

(b) in paragraph (2) –

(i) after sub-paragraph (a) insert –

“(aa) for the sums that must be paid in order for an obligation to be treated as having been discharged to increase at a rate specified in the order for each day after the time by which evidence had to be produced for the purposes of Article 52(2);”

(ii) in sub-paragraph (b), for “such sums” substitute “sums or rates falling within sub-paragraph (a) or (aa)”;

(iii) in sub-paragraph (c), after “sums” insert “or rates”; and

(iv) in sub-paragraph (d), after “sum” insert “or rate”;

(c) for paragraph (3) substitute –

“(2A) An order under Article 52 may provide that, where –

(a) a renewables obligation is one in relation to which provision made by virtue of paragraph (1)(b) applies in the case of the designated electricity supplier who is subject to the obligation, and

(b) the period ending with such day (after the day by which the obligation had to be complied with) as may be specified in or determined under the order has not expired,

the taking of steps under Article 45 in respect of a contravention by that supplier of that obligation is prohibited or otherwise restricted to the extent specified in the order.

(2B) An order under Article 52 may provide that, in a case in which the amount received by the Authority, or by the Great Britain authority, by way of discharge payments for a period falls short of the amount due in respect of that period, every person who –

(a) was subject to a renewables obligation for the relevant period or for a subsequent period specified in or determined under the order, and

(b) is of a description so specified or determined,

must, by the time and in the circumstances so specified or determined, make a payment (or further payment) to the Authority of an amount calculated in the manner so specified or determined.

(2C) An order under Article 52 may not by virtue of paragraph (2B) confer an entitlement on the Authority to receive a payment in respect of the shortfall for any period –

(a) in the case of a shortfall in the amount received by the Authority, if the receipt of the payment is to be while a prohibition or restriction by virtue of paragraph (2A) applies, in one or more cases, to the taking of steps in relation to contraventions of renewables obligations for that period; or

(b) in the case of a shortfall in the amount received by the Great Britain authority, if the receipt of the payment is to be while a prohibition or restriction by virtue of a corresponding provision having effect in Great Britain applies, in one or more cases, to the taking of steps in relation to contraventions of Great Britain obligations for that period.

(2D) The provision that may be made by virtue of paragraph (2B) includes –

(a) provision for the making of adjustments and repayments at times after a requirement to make payments in respect of a shortfall for a period has already arisen; and

(b) provision that Articles 42 to 51 are to apply in relation to a requirement imposed by virtue of that paragraph on a person who is not a licence holder as if he were a licence holder.

(3) The amounts received by the Authority by virtue of the preceding provisions of this Article must be paid by it to electricity suppliers in accordance with a system of allocation specified in an order under Article 52.”; and

(d) at the end insert –

“(5) The references in paragraphs (3) and (4) to electricity suppliers include references to persons who are Great Britain suppliers.

(6) References in this Article to a designated electricity supplier’s renewables obligation include references to his renewables obligation in relation to a particular period.

(7) For the purposes of this Article –

(a) the amount received by the Authority by way of discharge payments for a period falls short of the amount due in respect of that period, and

(b) the amount received by the Great Britain authority by way of discharge payments for a period falls short of the amount due in respect of that period,

if, and to the extent that, the Authority or (as the case may be) the Great Britain authority would have received more by way of discharge payments if every renewables obligation or (as the case may be) Great Britain obligation for that period, so far as it was not otherwise discharged, had been discharged by payment.

(8) In this Article –

“discharge payment”, in relation to a period, means –

(a)

a payment by virtue of paragraph (1)(a) for discharging (in whole or in part) a designated electricity supplier’s renewables obligation for that period;

(b)

so much of a payment by virtue of paragraph (1)(b) for securing that such an obligation is treated as discharged to any extent as does not exceed the payment that would have discharged that obligation to the same extent if it had been made before the day mentioned in that paragraph; or

(c)

so much of any payment to the Great Britain authority as corresponds, in relation to a Great Britain obligation for that period, to anything falling within paragraph (a) or (b);

“Great Britain obligation” means a renewables obligation of a Great Britain supplier under section 32 of the Electricity Act 1989;

“the relevant period” –

(a)

in relation to a shortfall in amounts received by the Authority by way of discharge payments for a period, means that period; and

(b)

in relation to a shortfall in amounts received by the Great Britain authority by way of discharge payments for a period, means any period that includes the whole or a part of that period.”.