PART 4Payment of invoices and credit notes
Payment of invoices and accruing interest11
1
A payer must pay an invoiced amount to the Settlement Body by no later than 5.00 p.m. on the payment due date.
2
A payment made after 5.00 p.m. is to be treated as having been made on the following day.
3
Where a payer has not paid the invoiced amount to the Settlement Body in full as required by paragraph (1), the payer must pay the Settlement Body simple interest at the rate specified in paragraph (5) (“late payment interest”) on the outstanding balance of the invoiced amount from and including the payment due date until (but not including) the date of payment.
4
Where a payer disputes an invoiced amount under Chapter 2 of Part 10 of the Principal Regulations—
a
if the decision of the Settlement Body under that Part is that the invoiced amount is reduced but not extinguished, late payment interest accrues on the reduced amount from and including the payment due date until (but not including) the date of payment;
b
if the decision of the Settlement Body under that Part is that the invoiced amount is extinguished, no late payment interest accrues in respect of the invoiced amount.
5
The rate at which late payment interest is payable is 5 per cent per annum over the Bank of England base rate in force on the 30th June (in respect of interest which starts to run between 1st July and 31st December) or the 31st December (in respect of interest which starts to run between 1st January and 30th June) immediately before the date on which the interest starts to run.
6
In paragraph (5), “Bank of England base rate” means—
a
the rate announced from time to time by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England as the official dealing rate, being the rate at which the Bank is willing to enter into transactions for providing short term liquidity in the money markets; or
b
where an order under section 19 of the Bank of England Act 19986 is in force, any equivalent rate determined by the Treasury under that section.
Non-payment of invoices: draw down of credit cover12
1
Paragraph (2) applies where an electricity supplier (“S”) is in default in respect of an invoiced monthly capacity market supplier charge.
2
Where this paragraph applies the Settlement Body must—
a
give a notice (a “credit default notice”) to S which states that the Settlement Body intends to draw down on S’s supplier credit cover to pay the outstanding invoiced amount and the accruing interest which applies to that amount (“the debt plus interest”) if S does not pay the debt plus interest in full by no later than the 9th working day of the month to which the invoice relates; and
b
give the credit default notice by no later than the 7th working day of the month to which the invoice relates.
3
Where S does not pay the debt plus interest in accordance with the credit default notice, the Settlement Body must draw down on S’s credit cover for the debt plus interest (or so much of it as is covered by the credit cover) by no later than the 11th working day of the month to which the invoice relates.
4
Where supplier credit cover is drawn down under this regulation, the Settlement Body must treat the amount drawn down as a payment, or part payment, of the debt plus interest.
Payment of credit notes13
Subject to regulation 14, the Settlement Body must pay the amount due to—
a
each electricity supplier issued with a credit note for a penalty residual supplier amount, by no later than the 29th working day after the end of the delivery year to which the payment relates; and
b
each electricity supplier issued with a credit note under regulation 9 (settlement costs levy) or regulation 10 (settlement costs levy refund), as soon as reasonably practicable after the credit note is issued.
Withholding credit payments to suppliers14
1
This regulation applies where, at the time when a credit note is issued to an electricity supplier (“S”) under Part 3 or 5, S is in capacity market stage 2 credit default.
2
The Settlement Body must ensure that—
a
the credit is withheld; and
b
the credit note states that the payment is to be withheld and states the reason why.
Payment of withheld credit15
1
Paragraphs (2) and (3) apply where a credit is withheld from an electricity supplier (“S”) under regulation 14.
2
If an invoice is due to be issued to S, the Settlement Body may deduct all or part of the withheld credit from the amount invoiced.
3
Except where the withheld credit has been deducted in accordance with paragraph (2), the Settlement Body must pay the withheld credit on the next occasion which the Settlement Body considers practicable when—
a
credit payments are made under these Regulations; and
b
S is not in capacity market stage 2 credit default.
Consequences of termination of licence16
1
This regulation applies if the supply licence of an electricity supplier (“S”) is terminated.
2
Notwithstanding the termination of S’s supply licence—
a
S remains liable to pay any invoices (whether issued before or after the termination of its licence) for amounts payable—
i
under regulation 9, in respect of the financial year in which its supply licence is terminated or any preceding financial year; or
ii
under any other provision of these Regulations, in respect of the delivery year in which its supply licence is terminated or any preceding delivery year;
b
S remains liable to provide supplier credit cover under Part 6 in respect of each month of the delivery year in which its supply licence is terminated; and
c
S remains entitled, subject to paragraph (3), to receive any payment—
i
under regulation 10, is respect of the financial year in which its supply licence is terminated or any preceding financial year, or
ii
under any other provision of these Regulations, in respect of the delivery year in which its supply licence is terminated or any preceding delivery year,
to which it would have been entitled if its licence had not been terminated.
3
Any payment to which S is entitled following the termination of its supply licence must be made in the last scheduled reconciliation run for the delivery year in which its supply licence is terminated.
4
In this regulation, references to a licence being terminated include the licence—
a
being revoked by the Authority;
b
being surrendered by the licensee; or
c
expiring by effluxion of time.