Energy Act 1976

Maintenance of fuel reserves

6 Bulk stocks of petroleum, etc.

(1) Directions under this section may be given to any person who in the course of an undertaking carried on by him produces, supplies or uses crude liquid petroleum, or petroleum products.

(2) The Secretary of State may—

(a) direct any such person to make such arrangements with respect to his United Kingdom stocks of crude liquid petroleum, or of petroleum products, as will—

(i) enable those stocks to be brought within a specified time to, and thereafter maintained at, a specified level, and

(ii) ensure that they do not fall below that level, except as may be permitted by the terms of the direction or by authority of the Secretary of State;

(b) in the case of any such person who is a substantial supplier to the United Kingdom market, direct him to create such stocks and make such arrangements with respect to them.

(3) In giving such directions, the Secretary of State shall have regard in particular to—

(a) the quantities of crude liquid petroleum, or of petroleum products, which have been supplied by the undertaking to the United Kingdom market in past periods; and

(b) the extent to which crude liquid petroleum and petroleum products produced or supplied by the undertaking are, or will be, indigenous.

" Indigenous ", in relation to crude liquid petroleum, means won under the authority of licences granted under United Kingdom legislation, and in relation to petroleum products means produced in the United Kingdom from indigenous crude.

(4) A direction given to a person under this section may require a specified portion of his stocks to be held in Northern Ireland.

(5) Before giving a direction under this section the Secretary of State shall notify the substance of the proposed direction to the person to whom he proposes to give it and shall afford him a reasonable opportunity to make representations.

(6) In this section " specified " means specified by the Secretary of State's direction; and the Secretary of State may by order prescribe, as respects the effect of, and compliance with, directions under this section—

(a) the cases and circumstances in which stocks (in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) are to be treated, in relation to any person, as his United Kingdom stocks, and those in which a person is to be treated as a substantial supplier to the United Kingdom market;

(b) the extent to which stocks of a particular kind are to count towards compliance with a direction specifying stocks of another kind ; and

(c) the method by which quantities are to be measured for different purposes.

7 Fuel stocks at power stations

(1) Directions under this section may be given—

(a) to the Central Electricity Generating Board, an Area Electricity Board, the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board or the South of Scotland Electricity Board;

(b) to any person who has the means of generating electricity for the purposes of an undertaking carried on by him.

(2) In respect of any electricity generating station, the Secretary of State may direct any of those Boards and, in respect of a station of a capacity of 100 megawatts or more, he may direct any such person as is referred to in subsection (1)(b)—

(a) to make such arrangements with respect to fuel stocks held at or near that generating station for the purposes of its operation as will—

(i) enable those stocks to be brought within a specified time to, and thereafter maintained at, a specified level, and

(ii) ensure that they do not fall below that level, except as may be permitted by the terms of the direction or by authority of the Secretary of State;

(b) to create such stocks and make such arrangements with respect to them.

(3) The amount of fuel stocks may be specified by reference to the period for which it would enable the generating station to be maintained in operation.

(4) In this section " specified " means specified by the Secretary of State's direction and a direction may specify—

(a) the cases and circumstances in which fuel stocks are to be treated as held at or near any generating station ;

(b) the extent to which the direction may be treated as complied with where access can be had to stocks held for the use of a number of consumers, under arrangements made or approved by the Secretary of State;

(c) the manner in which the period mentioned in subsection (3) above is to be calculated.