The Measuring Instruments (Active Electrical Energy Meters) Regulations 2006

PART 1 PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Measuring Instruments (Active Electrical Energy Meters) Regulations 2006.

(2) This regulation, regulations 2, 7, 9 and 10 and Part 1 of Schedule 2 shall come into force on 31st July 2006.

(3) The remaining regulations shall come into force on 30th October 2006.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“active electrical energy meter” means a device which measures the active electrical energy consumed in a circuit;

“authorised representative” means a person who is established in a member State and is authorised by a manufacturer, in writing, to act on his behalf;

“CE marking” means the CE marking referred to in regulation 12;

“the Commission” means the European Commission;

“conformity assessment procedure” means any procedure referred to in regulation 6;

“the Directive” means Directive 2004/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31st March 2004 on measuring instruments(1);

“enforcement authority” means any person who is, pursuant to regulation 14, authorised to enforce these Regulations;

“enforcement notice” means a notice served in accordance with regulation 17(2);

“enforcement officer” means a person appointed by an enforcement authority to act on its behalf to enforce these Regulations;

“essential requirements” means the requirements set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1;

“GEMA” means the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority;

“harmonised standard” means a technical specification adopted by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC) or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) or jointly by two or all of these organisations, at the request of the Commission pursuant to Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22nd June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society Services(2), as amended by Directive 98/48/EC(3), and prepared in accordance with the General Guidelines agreed between the Commission and one or more of CEN, CENELEC and ETSI;

“in writing” includes text that is—

(a)

transmitted by electronic means;

(b)

received in legible form; and

(c)

capable of being used for subsequent reference;

“M marking” means the M marking referred to in regulation 12;

“manufacturer” means a person responsible for the conformity of a relevant instrument with the essential requirements with a view to either placing it on the market under his own name or putting it into use for his own purposes, or both;

“NIAER” means the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation;

“normative document” means a document containing technical specifications adopted by the Organisation Internationale de Métrologie Légale, subject to the procedure stipulated in Article 16.1, the reference of which is published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the European Union pursuant to Article 16.1(b);

“notified body” means—

(a)

the Secretary of State; or

(b)

a United Kingdom notified body; and

(c)

for the purposes of regulations 4(1)(c), 15(6) and 17(1)(b), a person designated by another member State,

who has been notified to the Commission and the other member States pursuant to Article 11(1);

“notified body criteria” means the criteria set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2;

“place on the market” means making available for the first time in a member State a relevant instrument intended for an end user, whether for reward or free of charge;

“put into use” means the first use of a relevant instrument intended for the end user for the purposes for which it was intended;

“relevant instrument” must be construed in accordance with regulation 3;

“relevant national standard” means a standard applicable to a relevant instrument—

(a)

implementing a harmonised standard that has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union C series; and

(b)

the reference of which is published—

(i)

in the United Kingdom by the Secretary of State; or

(ii)

in another member State by the competent authority pursuant to the third sub-paragraph of Article 13.1;

“relevant normative document” means a normative document applicable to a relevant instrument, the reference of which is published—

(a)

in the United Kingdom by the Secretary of State; or

(b)

in another member State by the competent authority pursuant to the third sub-paragraph of Article 13.2; and

“United Kingdom notified body” means a person designated under regulation 7.

(2) In these Regulations, a reference to a member State includes Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein(4).

(3) References in these Regulations to an Article, Annex or a part of an Annex are references to an Article, Annex, or part of an Annex to the Directive.

Relevant instrument

3.—(1) A “relevant instrument” is an active electrical energy meter which is for use for trade.

(2) A relevant instrument is not an instrument which—

(a) is of a pattern or construction approved before 30th October 2006 by or under regulations made under paragraph 2 of Schedule 7 to the Electricity Act 1989(5), where such approval has not been revoked under regulations so made; and

(b) is—

(i) certified under paragraph 5 of that Schedule or excepted from the requirement for certification under paragraph 2(2) of that Schedule; and

(ii) put into use,

before 30th October 2016.

(3) A relevant instrument is not an instrument which—

(a) is of a pattern or construction approved before 30th October 2006 by or under regulations made under paragraph 3 of Schedule 7 to the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992(6), where such approval has not been revoked under regulations so made; and

(b) is—

(i) certified under paragraph 6 of that Schedule or excepted from the requirement for certification under paragraph 3(2) of that Schedule; and

(ii) put into use,

before 30th October 2016.

(4) A relevant instrument is not an instrument—

(a) in respect of a pattern of which EEC pattern approval was granted before 30th October 2006—

(i) under the Measuring Instruments (EC Requirements) (Electrical Energy Meters) Regulations 1995(7); or

(ii) by any other member State in accordance with the relevant provisions of measures in force which implement Council Directive 76/891(8),

and which is in force; and

(b) which bears a mark of EEC initial verification affixed under those Regulations or by any other member State in accordance with those provisions.

(5) A relevant instrument is not an instrument which is used under an agreement providing for the supply of active electrical energy where—

(a) the maximum quantity supplied exceeds 100 kilowatts per hour; and

(b) the instrument provides measurement on a half-hourly basis.

(6) A relevant instrument is not an instrument which is not compliant with the essential requirements and which is displayed or presented at a trade fair, exhibition or demonstration, if a sign displayed visibly on or near the instrument clearly indicates that the instrument—

(a) is not compliant with those requirements; and

(b) cannot be acquired or used until it is made compliant with those requirements by the manufacturer.

(1)

O.J. No. L135, 30.4.2004, p.1.

(2)

O.J. No. L204, 21.7.98, p.37.

(3)

O.J. No. L217, 5.8.98, p.18.

(4)

The application of the Directive 2004/22/EC was extended in 2005 to the European Economic Area by Decision No. 31/205 (O.J. No. L198, 28.7.05, p.20).

(5)

1989 c. 29.

(6)

S.I. 1992 No. 231 (N.I. 1).

(7)

S.I. 1995/2607.

(8)

Directive 76/891 on the approximation of the laws of member States relating to electrical energy meters.