These Regulations amend the Warm Home Discount Regulations 2011 (“the 2011 Regulations”), which place obligations on certain electricity suppliers to incur spending on the provision of benefits to consumers in or at risk of fuel poverty who meet certain criteria. Under Part 4 of the 2011 Regulations, each supplier subject to that Part is required in each scheme year to incur an amount of spending (“non-core spending”) calculated by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, and regulation 14 provides for an adjustment to be made to a supplier’s non-core spending obligation if it spent more or less than its non-core spending obligation in the preceding scheme year. These Regulations amend regulation 14 to increase the maximum percentage by which a supplier’s non-core spending obligation for scheme year 4 (1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015) may be reduced if the supplier spent more than its non-core spending obligation in the preceding scheme year. The maximum percentage is increased from 1% to 34% of the supplier’s non-core spending obligation for the preceding scheme year.

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/warm-home-discount-flexibility-for-higher-spending and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website.