Energy Prices Act 2022

15 Role of other bodies in giving support for meeting energy costs etc

(1) A designated body may take action in support of a step taken under section 13 (a “relevant step”).

(2) The Secretary of State may, by regulations, make provision about designated bodies taking action in support of relevant steps.

(3) The regulations may, in particular, make provision in connection with designated bodies—

(a) receiving financial assistance,

(b) distributing and otherwise managing financial assistance,

(c) monitoring and accounting for financial assistance,

(d) recovering and returning financial assistance, and

(e) providing information.

(4) The regulations may—

(a) make provision about how designated bodies are to take action in support of relevant steps, and

(b) provide for the giving of guidance about how such actions are to be taken.

(5) Subsection (1) applies to action taken by a designated body—

(a) on or after 1 January 2022 but before the coming into force of this section, and

(b) in support of a step taken by the Secretary of State during that period and of a kind described in section 13(1) or (2),

as it does to action taken by a designated body (in support of a step taken under section 13) on or after the coming into force of this section.

(6) The power of the Secretary of State to deal with costs or matters incidental to the exercise of the powers conferred by section 13 includes dealing with costs or matters arising under this section.

(7) A “designated body” is—

(a) a local authority;

(b) a person who is a heat supplier within the meaning of the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/3120) or who otherwise supplies and charges for the supply of heating, cooling or hot water to a building or persons in a building;

(c) any other body or person established by or under any primary legislation or subordinate legislation and designated, in regulations made by the Secretary of State, for the purposes of this section.

(8) Regulations under subsection (2) or (7) are subject to the negative procedure.

(9) In this section “local authority” means—

(a) a county council in England,

(b) a district council for an area in England for which there is no county council,

(c) a combined authority established under section 103 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009,

(d) the Greater London Authority,

(e) a London borough council,

(f) the Common Council of the City of London,

(g) the Council of the Isles of Scilly,

(h) a county council in Wales,

(i) a county borough council in Wales,

(j) a corporate joint committee established by regulations made under Part 5 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021,

(k) a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994,

(l) a community council in Scotland,

(m) a district council in Northern Ireland.