The Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

Interpretation N.I.

[F1 8L.— (1) In Articles 8B to 8K and this Article—

“certification ground” shall be construed in accordance with Article 8F(2);

“certified” means, in relation to any person, certified in accordance with Article 8E or continued to be certified in accordance with Article 8K;

“control”, in relation to one person having control over another, has the meaning given in Article 2(36) of the Directive, but in determining whether one person (“person A”) controls another person (“person B”) no account is to be taken of any power to exercise a contractual or other right which would give person A decisive influence over person B where the right was conferred as a condition of the provision of any financial support or guarantee by person A in relation to the business of person B; and references to one person controlling another are to be interpreted accordingly;

“electricity generation undertaking” means a person who generates electricity for the purpose of giving a supply to any premises or enabling a supply to be so given;

“electricity supply undertaking” means a person who supplies electricity to any premises;

“gas producer” means a gas undertaking carrying out the function of production mentioned in Article 2(1) of the Directive;

“gas supply undertaking” means a person who sells gas to one or more customers, including by the supply to any premises of gas which has been conveyed to those premises through pipes;

“the Gas Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No. 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 1775/2005;

“gas transmission pipe-line” means a gas pipe-line used for the purposes of transmission within the meaning of the Directive;

“licence” means—

(a)

in relation to an electricity generation undertaking or an electricity supply undertaking, a licence under Article 10(1)(a) or (c) of the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992; and

(b)

in relation to a gas supply undertaking, a licence under Article 8(1)(c);

“majority shareholding” means a simple majority of shares;

“person from a third country” means any person the Authority thinks is a person from a third country;

“qualification measures” in relation to an applicant for certification, means measures taken or arrangements made to ensure that the certification ground to which his application relates applies in his case;

“related conveyance licensee” means, in relation to an applicant for certification or a certified person, any other person (including a person nominated or designated as independent system operator for the purposes of the second certification ground) who—

(a)

holds; or

(b)

in the case of an applicant for certification would, pursuant to any qualification measures proposed in the application, hold, a licence under Article 8(1)(a) under which that person co-ordinates, and directs, the flow of gas into and through a gas transmission pipe-line of the applicant or certified person;

“review period” in relation to a review under Article 8I, means the period specified in paragraph (5) or (7) of that Article as extended by any period of suspension under paragraph (8) of that Article;

“senior officer” means—

(a)

in relation to a company, a director;

(b)

in relation to a partnership, a partner;

(c)

in relation to any other business, a person holding a position equivalent to that of a director or partner;

“shareholder right”, in relation to a company, means a right conferred by the holding of a share in the company's share capital—

(a)

to vote at general meetings of the company; or

(b)

to appoint or remove a member of the company's board of directors;

“third country” means a country that is not, and is not part of, a European Economic Area state.

(2) In Articles 8B to 8K and this Article, “relevant producer or supplier”, in relation to an applicant for certification or a certified person, means—

(a) an electricity generation undertaking, an electricity supply undertaking or a gas supply undertaking which meets the requirements of paragraph (3); or

(b) a gas producer which meets the requirements of paragraph (4).

(3) An undertaking mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) meets the requirements of this paragraph if it carries out its generation or supply activity in a European Economic Area state and it—

(a) requires a licence or similar authority to do so;

(b) would, in the Authority's opinion, require a licence to do so if it carried out the activity in Northern Ireland; or

(c) has a relationship with the applicant or certified person which the Authority thinks might lead the applicant or certified person to discriminate in favour of it.

(4) A gas producer meets the requirements of this paragraph if it—

(a) carries out its production activity in a European Economic Area state; and

(b) has a relationship with the applicant or certified person which the Authority thinks might lead the applicant or certified person to discriminate in favour of it.]

F1 Arts. 8B-8L inserted (15.4.2011) by Gas and Electricity (Internal Markets) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 (S.R. 2011/155), reg. 12