Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 14^th January 2025
Amends: Energy Act 2013 (2013 c.32) with commencement Order and associated Regulations

Mini Summary

The Energy Act 2013 (2013 c.32) sets out the legislative framework that the Government will make Regulations from in the coming years to ensure that the UK will generate enough secure, affordable and low-carbon energy to meet increasing demand. As well as cost and capacity issues, these forthcoming policies also consider the UK’s Climate Change Act 2008 commitments and legally-binding EU renewables targets. The Act introduces Contract for Difference, a key part of the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) programme.

Duties

Various duties apply and are available to view on the Legislation Update Service.

Amendment

Changes have been made to previous regulations, covering the replacement of parts in eligible generating stations and the eligibility of phased offshore wind CFD units.

The Contracts for Difference (Definition of Eligible Generator) Regulations 2014
The definition of generating activity has been updated to include alteration by decommissioning a part of an eligible generating station in order to replace it. A person conducting this activity is still considered an eligible generator.

The Contracts for Difference (Allocation) Regulations 2014

Those planning to decommission a part of an eligible generating station, in order to replace it, can still apply to take part in the CFD allocation process.

Also, floating offshore wind units which are part of a phased offshore wind project are now eligible for CFD allocation.

Link to full government text

Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 1^st October 2024
Amends: Energy Act 2023

Mini Summary

The Energy Act 2023 sets out that organisations must have a licence to transport hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide through a pipeline, and dispose of carbon dioxide via geological storage*.

*Geological storage is the injection of captured carbon dioxide into rock to remove it from the atmosphere.

It aims to promote sustainable development and help the United Kingdom achieve net-zero emissions** targets.

**Net-zero emissions means reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

Counterparties

The Secretary of State may appoint a counterparty* for:

carbon dioxide capture, transport and storage providers**;

hydrogen producers; and
hydrogen transport and storage providers***.
*A counterparty is an individual or organisation that provides financial support to organisations.

**A carbon dioxide capture, transport and storage provider is a person that captures, transports or stores carbon dioxide under a licence.

***A hydrogen transport and storage provider is a person that transports or stores hydrogen or a compound containing hydrogen.

Counterparties may:

impose conditions on providers;
specify the process to be followed when producing hydrogen or capturing carbon dioxide; and
specify targets for hydrogen production and carbon capture.

Duties

Various duties apply and are available to view on the Legislation Update Service.

Amendment

The following sections come into force on 1st October 2024.

Section 166 (2) which amends the Electricity Act 1989 to prohibit anyone who co-ordinates and directs the flow of electricity onto and over transmission systems by means of which the transmission of electricity takes place, to do so without a licence.
Section 168 (2) which amends the Gas Act 1986 to establish an Independent System Operator and Planner ; and
paragraphs 1, 2, 4 and 5 of Schedule 11 (minor and consequential amendments relating to Part 5).

Link to full government text

Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

Commencement: 10^th September 2024

Amends: Energy Act 2023
Mini Summary

The Energy Act 2023 sets out that organisations must have a licence to transport hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide through a pipeline, and dispose of carbon dioxide via geological storage.

Duties

Various duties apply and are available to view in full on the Legislation Update Service.

Amendment

The following sections come into force on 10th September 2024.

Section 156, amending the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 to exclude fusion energy facilities from the nuclear site licencing requirements.

The following sections, making up the majority of Part 6, which allow for the governance of gas and electricity industry codes. This includes requirements for licencing and the selection of code managers when managing industry codes in the electricity and gas sectors:

Section 209, allowing the Secretary of State to make additional legislation relating to multi-purpose interconnectors.

Section 302, amending the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 and the Energy Act 2013 to clarify that nuclear sites located (entirely or partially) in or under the sea still require a licence and are regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

Link to full government text

The Legislation Update Service is the best way to stay up to date automatically with legislation in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Sign up for your free trial to get instant access.

Jurisdiction: Wales

Commencement: 3^rd June 2024

Amends:

Harbours Act 1964
Highways Act 1980
Electricity Act 1989
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990
New Roads and Street Works Act 1991
Transport and Works Act 1992
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009
Flood and Water Management Act 2010
Planning (Wales) Act 2015
Infrastructure Act 2015
Housing and Planning Act 2016
Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023

Mini Summary

A regime is introduced for granting consent for significant infrastructure projects in Wales. Infrastructure consent must be obtained for specific types of ‘significant infrastructure projects’, including both onshore and offshore infrastructure.

Summary
A unified consent process is in place for a wide range of significant infrastructure types (both onshore and offshore) in Wales.

The significant infrastructure project types covered by this new consenting process are listed below, with links to definitions that determine when such an infrastructure project type would be classified as ‘significant’.

N.B. Only those infrastructure types above that meet the specific criteria to be classed as a ‘significant’ infrastructure project are within the scope of this Act.

Duties

Various duties apply.

Link to full government text

The Legislation Update Service is the best way to stay up to date automatically with legislation in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Sign up for your free trial to get instant access.

Duties
Various duties apply and are available to view on The Legislation Update Service.

The Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) is extended until 31st March 2028. A number of changes aiming to encourage the use of heat pumps in the production of biomethane will come into force on 4th June 2024.

Scheme extension

The scheme closure date is changed from 30th November 2025 to 31st March 2028, to allow prospective applicants more time to register and participate in the scheme.

Amended formula for eligible biomethane

The formula used to calculate the biomethane eligible for tariff payments is amended, so heat supplied by eligible heat pumps and the electricity input to these heat pumps are no longer included in the deductions.

The change aims to incentivise the GGSS participants to use heat pumps in the production of biomethane.

Eligible heat pumps
An eligible heat pump is an air and / or ground source heat pump that:

was first commissioned on or after 1st April 2023;
has an electricity meter that can measure the electricity supplied to the heat pump;
has been granted planning permission;
had no costs covered by a grant from public funds; and
is not powered by, or uses heat from a fossil fuel, gas or oil boiler.

Registration of eligible heat pumps

Heat pumps must be registered with the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority in order to be considered eligible heat pumps. The registration requirements are detailed in the new Regulation 8A.

The information required for registration is listed in Schedule 1A

A licence must be obtained to construct or operate a natural gas facility* or pipeline. The Gas Act 1976 sets out the process for obtaining a licence and the conditions that may be imposed.

*Natural gas facility means a facility or pipeline that transmits or stores natural gas**.

**Natural gas is a non-renewable source of gas that is extracted from rock formations.

It aims to ensure the safety of people operating or constructing natural gas facilities and pipelines.

Irish Gas Board

The Irish Gas Board must ensure that natural gas facilities and pipelines are operated in a way that ensures the safety of operators*. This includes establishing an emergency response service and call centre to respond to gas escapes.

*An operator is any person operating under a natural gas licence.

The Irish Gas Board may:

maintain, repair and demolish natural gas infrastructure including pipelines, terminals and pressure-reducing stations;
place markers to indicate the presence of pipelines;
impose conditions on natural gas facilities;
temporarily close or divert rivers, streams and watercourses; and
require metres to be installed to measure the volume of gas supplied.

Duties
Licences
Organisations must apply for a licence to construct or operate a natural gas facility or pipeline.

It is an offence for organisations to fail to comply with a condition specified in a licence.

*An authorised officer is any person appointed by the Irish Gas Board for the purpose of enforcing this Act.

Enforcement notices may be issued to non-compliant organisations. These may require an organisation to:

N.B. The Minister for Transport and Power may recover the costs of investigation and enforcement from non-compliant organisations.

The Energy Act 2023 sets out that Organisations must have a licence to transport hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide through a pipeline, and dispose of carbon dioxide via geological storage*.

*Geological storage is the injection of captured carbon dioxide into rock to remove it from the atmosphere.

It aims to promote sustainable development and help the United Kingdom achieve net-zero emissions** targets.

**Net-zero emissions means reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

Counterparties

The Secretary of State may appoint a counterparty* for:

carbon dioxide capture, transport and storage providers**;
hydrogen producers; and
hydrogen transport and storage providers***.

*A counterparty is an individual or organisation that provides financial support to organisations.

**A carbon dioxide capture, transport and storage provider is a person that captures, transports or stores carbon dioxide under a licence.

***A hydrogen transport and storage provider is a person that transports or stores hydrogen or a compound containing hydrogen.

Counterparties may:

impose conditions on providers;
specify the process to be followed when producing hydrogen or capturing carbon dioxide; and
specify targets for hydrogen production and carbon capture.

Summary
Low carbon hydrogen producers* may apply for financial support via a hydrogen production revenue support contract. N.B. Producers are only eligible if the hydrogen is produced in accordance with the UK Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard – Version 3.

*Low carbon hydrogen producers are producers of hydrogen who emit fewer greenhouse gases.

The Secretary of State may issue a notice, in accordance with regulation 3, requiring producers to comply with a later version of the UK Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard.

*A low carbon hydrogen counterparty is the person or organisation providing financial support to a low carbon hydrogen producer.

Summary
Organisations must have a licence to transport hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide through a pipeline, and dispose of carbon dioxide via geological storage*.

*Geological storage is the injection of captured carbon dioxide into rock to remove it from the atmosphere.

It aims to promote sustainable development and help the United Kingdom achieve net-zero emissions** targets.

**Net-zero emissions means reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

Counterparties
The Secretary of State may appoint a counterparty* for:

carbon dioxide capture, transport and storage providers**;
hydrogen producers; and
hydrogen transport and storage providers***.

*A counterparty is an individual or organisation that provides financial support to organisations.

**A carbon dioxide capture, transport and storage provider is a person that captures, transports or stores carbon dioxide under a licence.

***A hydrogen transport and storage provider is a person that transports or stores hydrogen or a compound containing hydrogen.

Counterparties may:

impose conditions on providers;
specify the process to be followed when producing hydrogen or capturing carbon dioxide; and
specify targets for hydrogen production and carbon capture.

Duties
Various duties apply and are available to view on the Legislation Update Service.

The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme Regulations 2014 introduces the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) which is a mandatory energy assessment and energy saving identification scheme for large undertakings and their corporate groups. All must audit their energy use every four years. ESOS is the UK Government’s approach to transposing Article 8(4)-8(6) of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive which imposes these requirements on EU member states.

A large undertaking either:

has 250 or more employees in the UK; or
has fewer than 250 employees but has an annual turnover exceeding £44m and a balance sheet exceeding £38m.

If you are very close to the qualification threshold or have substantially increased or decrease in size in recent years, please refer to the full ESOS guidance on how to assess if you qualify.

Smaller organisations may still be obligated if they are part of a Corporate Group which includes an undertaking in the UK that meets criteria in the bullet point list above.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and public sector bodies are exempt from the scheme, but are still encouraged to consider voluntarily undertaking energy audits and proactive energy management, in order to save money and cut energy bills. ESOS provides a framework that can be used to help identify energy efficiency opportunities for these organisations.

The ESOS Regulations came into force on 17 July 2014. The second compliance period has now ended and organisations will now be working towards the third compliance period (6th December 2019 to 5th December 2023).

Changes are made to the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), including requirements for ESOS audits and reports.

The measures introduced by this amendment aim to:

strengthen requirements for audits and make them more standardised;
improve the quality of ESOS audits; and
require public disclosure of high-level recommendations by participants.

Stronger requirements for audits / standardisation

The maximum percentage of total energy consumption that may be excluded from the ESOS audit is reduced from 10% to 5%.

Regulation 15 requires organisations to provide more details regarding the calculation of energy consumption, including energy intensity metrics.

Specific details of how the audit was carried out must now be recorded.

ESOS reports
An ESOS report must be produced for each ESOS assessment conducted after 5^th December 2019.

The information that must be included in an ESOS report is outlined in Schedule 3.

ESOS reports must also include additional data on compliance and energy savings, as detailed in Article 18. Where applicable, relevant parts of ESOS reports and evidence packs must also be provided to members of the corporate group.

Improved quality of ESOS audits

Energy audits must identify specific information in relation to energy saving opportunities, as detailed in Article 17.

These include:

costs;
benefits; and
an implementation programme.

Public disclosure of high-level recommendations

Regulation 6 sets out the requirements for the public disclosure of certain information.

Regulation 21 requires organisations to give additional information to the scheme administrator to support compliance monitoring and enforcement.

Regulation 26 introduces a new requirement to:

submit an ESOS action plan to the scheme administrator, setting out any commitments to implement energy efficiency measures; and
provide annual progress updates on the action plan.

In the case of corporate groups, when an organisation leaves the group before an action plan or a progress update is submitted, the organisation can agree to comply as if still part of the group or on its own.

Other changes

Organisations with an annual consumption of less than 40,000 kWh of energy are no longer required to appoint a lead assessor; however, they will need to appoint 2 responsible officers instead.

Responsible organisations using estimates must record the method used to make those estimates and, in some instances:

notify the scheme administrator that an estimate was used; and
record in the evidence pack, the reasons why an estimate was used.

These Regulations come into force on 29^th November 2023.

Link to full government text

Mini Summary

Duties

Amendment

Mini Summary

Duties

Stay informed with free, monthly legislation updates and news delivered straight to your inbox.