The Electricity (Offshore Generating Stations) (Safety Zones) (Application Procedures and Control of Access) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2019

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Electricity (Offshore Generating Stations) (Safety Zones) (Application Procedures and Control of Access) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/1948) (“the 2007 Regulations”) as a consequence of section 41 of the Wales Act 2017 (c. 4), which comes into force on 1 April 2019.

Section 41 amends sections 95 and 96 of the Energy Act 2004 (c. 20) (“the 2004 Act”) so that the Welsh Ministers will, from 1 April 2019, have functions in relation to declaring safety zones around offshore renewable energy installations (with a capacity of up to 350 megawatts) in Welsh waters. “Welsh waters” means so much of the internal waters and territorial sea of the United Kingdom as are adjacent to Wales, and the Welsh zone. The Welsh zone has the meaning given in section 158 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32).

The 2007 Regulations set out information required to accompany a safety zone application, as well as procedural requirements that need to be met. They also make provision for exemptions to the prohibition set out in section 96 of the 2004 Act on entry into and activities in a safety zone.

These Regulations make minor amendments to the 2007 Regulations to reflect the change in responsibilities for declaring safety zones in Welsh waters.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of regulatory impact assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.