The Electricity (Approval of Pattern or Construction and Installation and Certification) (Amendment) Regulations 2002

6.  For regulation 3, substitute—

“3.— (1) Any person who manufactures meters and satisfies the Authority that—

(a) he owns or has available to him apparatus for the examination, testing and regulation of meters which complies with directions;

(b) he operates at a manufacturing unit a quality assurance system in respect of every meter manufactured by him at that unit which conforms to the standard contained in European Standard EN ISO 9001:2000 or to any standard, technical regulation, manufacturing method or code of practice accepted in other EEA States conformity with which will achieve an equivalent assurance of quality; and

(c) he would be capable of complying with the conditions set out in paragraph (7),

and, if, at the point of authorisation, paragraph (3) applies, that his proposals for audit are such as would, if implemented, meet the minimum requirements for audit set out in paragraph (4), may, upon payment of the appropriate fee, be authorised by the Authority for the purpose of these regulations for a period not exceeding three years in respect of meters manufactured by him at that unit.

(2) Any such authorisation as is mentioned in paragraph (1) may, from time to time, if the authorised person so requests and for so long as the Authority remains satisfied as to the matters described there, be renewed for a further period not exceeding three years by the Authority.

(3) This paragraph applies if the person intends to make arrangements for audit to be carried out otherwise than by the Authority.

(4) The minimum requirements for audit are:

(a) the audit shall be carried out by a nominated laboratory or a meter examiner;

(b) a nominated laboratory carrying out an audit shall be permitted at least the same level of access as the Authority is to be permitted under paragraph (7)(e);

(c) in the course of any period of three months, all relevant apparatus, processes, systems and records shall be submitted to audit;

(d) the nominated laboratory or, as the case may be, meter examiner shall make their report of each audit directly to the Authority at the same time as they report to the authorised person;

(e) every report shall be made within 14 days of completion of the audit to which it relates.

(5) Without prejudice to other means open to the Authority to satisfy itself as to the matters contained in paragraph (1)(a) to (c), the Authority may be satisfied as to those matters on the basis of a report by a nominated laboratory which concludes that the requirements of each of sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) are met in relation to the person seeking authorisation.

Provided that the report in question is not more than three months old at the point at which the request for authorisation is made.

(6) A person to whom paragraph (3) did not apply at the point of authorisation who subsequently forms an intention to make arrangements to which that paragraph refers shall inform the Authority of his proposals in such manner as the Authority may direct.

(7) An authorisation granted by the Authority to a person who satisfies the provisions of paragraph (1) shall be subject to the following conditions—

(a) that the authorisation shall apply only in respect of meters which have been examined, tested and regulated using the apparatus referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (1);

(b) that the authorised person shall operate at all times in each manufacturing unit a quality assurance system which conforms to the standard referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) and shall maintain a record in permanent form of the system which he operates and of the actions taken to comply with that system in respect of the meter or meters which he intends to submit for certification in accordance with regulation 6;

(c) that the authorised person shall secure that each meter referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph shall be examined and tested in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 or one of the European provisions;

(d) that the authorised person shall cause every meter in respect of which a certificate has been issued under regulation 7 or 9 to be so stored while it remains under his control and so packaged for delivery when it is dispatched from his control as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, damage which would cause it to operate in a manner which would not conform with the permitted margins of error;

(e) that the authorised person shall permit the Authority, a meter examiner or any person acting on behalf of the Authority to have access to any manufacturing unit and to examine and test all apparatus and to inspect all records referred to in this paragraph at all reasonable times for the purpose of ensuring that the authorised person is complying with the conditions of his authorisation;

(f) that where the authorised person has made arrangements for audit to be carried out otherwise than by the Authority and either—

(i) those arrangements have ceased; or

(ii) no audit has taken place under the arrangements for a period of three months; or

(iii) he proposes that the arrangements be modified in any material respect

the authorised person shall inform the Authority immediately, giving reasons in any case and, in the case of (iii), an account of the proposed modifications in such manner as the Authority may direct.

(g) that the authorised person shall comply with directions;

(h) that the authorised person shall promptly pay any fee payable by him in accordance with regulation 11.

(8) In the case of proposals made in pursuance of paragraph (6) or of information provided pursuant to paragraph (7)(f)(iii), the Authority shall, within 28 days of being informed of them, notify the authorised person of its view as to whether the requirements of paragraph (4) would be met by such arrangements.

(9) An authorisation under this regulation may be terminated in accordance with paragraph (11) at any time by the Authority if in the reasonable opinion of the Authority the authorised person is in breach of any condition of his authorisation and—

(a) the Authority has notified the authorised person of the breach;

(b) in the case of a breach which is, in the opinion of the Authority, capable of being remedied, the authorised person has refused or failed within a reasonable time to remedy that breach after notice has been given to him by the Authority notifying of the breach; and

(c) the period specified in paragraph (10) has expired.

(10) The period for the purposes of paragraph (9) is, as the case may be, 28 days,—

(a) in a case to which paragraph (9)(b) applies, from the date on which the Authority notifies the authorised person of its opinion that the authorised person has refused or failed within a reasonable time to remedy the breach;

(b) in any other case, from the date on which the Authority notified the breach.

(11) Termination of authorisation shall be effected by notice in writing by the Authority served upon the authorised person.

(12) For the purposes of this regulation and Schedule 2—

(a) a person may be treated as having manufactured a meter not withstanding that he has not himself manufactured every component part of that meter provided he has assembled the meter;

(b) “assembled” includes the carrying out of repairs or modifications to a meter within a period of twelve months after the date upon which a certificate in respect of that meter was first issued under regulation 7 or 9;

(c) “audit” means an audit of the apparatus, processes, systems (including quality assurance systems) and records available, utilised operated or maintained by the authorised person in connection with his activities as an authorised person under this regulation;

(d) “inspection” means an inspection to ascertain compliance with any conditions of authorisation and includes any monitoring of directions issued by the Authority;

(e) “manufacturing unit” means any premises specified to the Authority in writing (which may identify the premises by reference to a plan) at which meters are manufactured but excludes any premises which are used, otherwise than as provided for in sub-paragraph (b), for the cleaning and repair of meters which have previously been used for measuring the quantity of electricity supplied.

(13) Nothing in this regulation shall have effect so as to prevent the Authority at any time or in any case carrying out or procuring an audit or an inspection in connection with the performance of its functions under this regulation or charging the requisite fee for so doing.”