Energy Act 2023

Other functions of the economic regulator U.K.

28 Monitoring, information gathering etc U.K.

(1) The economic regulator must keep under review the carrying on in the United Kingdom and elsewhere of the following activities—

(a) operating a site for the disposal of carbon dioxide by way of geological storage;

(b) providing a service of transporting carbon dioxide by a licensable means of transportation;

(c) activities ancillary to activities mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b).

(2) The economic regulator may, for the purpose of facilitating the performance of its functions under this Part, collect information with respect to such activities.

(3) The economic regulator must give the Secretary of State or the CMA any information they may request with respect to any matter relating to the economic regulator’s functions under this Part.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 28 in force at 26.12.2023, see s. 334(3)(a)

29 Power to require information for purposes of monitoring U.K.

(1) The economic regulator may, for the purpose of exercising its functions under subsections (1) and (2) of section 28, serve a notice under subsection (2) on any licence holder.

(2) A notice under this subsection is a notice which—

(a) requires the person on whom it is served to produce, at a time and place specified in the notice, to the economic regulator any documents which are specified or described in the notice and are in that person’s custody or under their control, or

(b) requires that person, if they are carrying on a business, to provide to the economic regulator in the form and manner, and within the period, specified in the notice, the information specified or described in the notice.

(3) In paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) the reference to the economic regulator includes a person appointed by the economic regulator for the purpose of exercising the function in question.

(4) A person who intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document or record of information which that person has been required to produce by a notice under subsection (2) is guilty of an offence liable—

(a) on summary conviction in England and Wales, to a fine;

(b) on summary conviction in Scotland or Northern Ireland, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(c) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(5) Except as provided by subsection (6), the disclosure of information under this section does not breach—

(a) any obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure, or

(b) any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).

(6) This section does not authorise or require a disclosure of information if the disclosure would contravene the data protection legislation (but in determining whether a disclosure would do so, a requirement imposed by virtue of subsection (2) is to be taken into account).

Commencement Information

I2 S. 29 in force at 26.12.2023, see s. 334(3)(a)

30 Duty to carry out impact assessment U.K.

(1) This section applies where—

(a) the economic regulator is proposing to do anything for the purposes of, or in connection with, the carrying out of any function exercisable by it under or by virtue of this Part, and

(b) it appears to the economic regulator that the proposal is important;

but this section does not apply if it appears to the economic regulator that the urgency of the matter makes it impracticable or inappropriate for the economic regulator to comply with the requirements of this section.

(2) A proposal is important for the purposes of this section only if its implementation would be likely to do one or more of the following—

(a) involve a major change in the activities carried on by the economic regulator;

(b) have a significant impact on persons engaged in the capture, transportation or storage of carbon dioxide;

(c) have a significant impact on persons engaged in commercial activities connected with the capture, transportation or storage of carbon dioxide;

(d) have a significant impact on the general public in the United Kingdom or in a part of the United Kingdom;

(e) have significant effects on the environment.

(3) Before implementing its proposal, the economic regulator must either—

(a) carry out and publish an assessment of the likely impact of implementing the proposal, or

(b) publish a statement setting out its reasons for thinking that it is unnecessary for it to carry out an assessment.

(4) An assessment carried out under this section must—

(a) include an assessment of the likely effects on the environment of implementing the proposal, and

(b) relate to such other matters as the economic regulator considers appropriate.

(5) In determining the matters to which an assessment under this section should relate, the economic regulator must have regard to such general guidance relating to the carrying out of impact assessments as it considers appropriate.

(6) An assessment carried out under this section may take such form as the economic regulator considers appropriate.

(7) Where the economic regulator publishes an assessment under this section—

(a) it must provide an opportunity of making representations to the economic regulator about its proposal to members of the public and other persons who, in the economic regulator’s opinion, are likely to be affected to a significant extent by the proposal’s implementation,

(b) the published assessment must be accompanied by a statement setting out how representations may be made, and

(c) the economic regulator must not implement its proposal unless the period for making representations about the proposal has expired and it has considered all the representations that were made in that period.

(8) Where the economic regulator is required (apart from this section)—

(a) to consult about a proposal to which this section applies, or

(b) to give a person an opportunity of making representations about it,

the requirements of this section are in addition to, but may be performed contemporaneously with, the other requirements.

(9) Every report under section 41 (annual reports on transport and storage licensing functions) must set out—

(a) a list of the assessments under this section carried out during the financial year to which the report relates, and

(b) a summary of the decisions taken during that year in relation to proposals to which assessments carried out in that year or previous financial years relate.

(10) The publication of anything under this section must be in such manner as the economic regulator considers appropriate for bringing it to the attention of the persons who, in the economic regulator’s opinion, are likely to be affected if its proposal is implemented.

Commencement Information

I3 S. 30 in force at 26.12.2023, see s. 334(3)(a)

31 Reasons for decisions U.K.

(1) This section applies to the following decisions of the economic regulator or the Secretary of State—

(a) the revocation of a licence;

(b) the modification of the conditions of a licence;

(c) the giving of any directions or consent in pursuance of a condition included in a licence by virtue of section 11(2)(a) or (c);

(d) the determination of a question referred in pursuance of a condition included in a licence by virtue of section 11(2)(d);

(e) the making of a final order, the making or confirmation of a provisional order or the revocation of a final order or of a provisional order which has been confirmed.

(2) As soon as reasonably practicable after making such a decision the economic regulator or the Secretary of State (“the decision maker”) must—

(a) publish a notice stating the reasons for the decision in such manner as the decision maker considers appropriate for the purpose of bringing the matters to which the notice relates to the attention of persons likely to be interested, and

(b) send a copy of the notice to the licence holder to whose licence, or to whom, the decision relates.

(3) In preparing a notice under subsection (2) the decision maker must have regard to the need for excluding, so far as that is practicable, any matter which relates to the affairs of a particular individual or body of persons (corporate or unincorporate), where the decision maker considers that publication of that matter would or might seriously and prejudicially affect the interests of that individual or body.

(4) In this Part “final order” and “provisional order” have the same meaning as in Schedule 3 (see paragraph 1(12) of that Schedule).

Commencement Information

I4 S. 31 in force at 26.12.2023, see s. 334(3)(a)