Written answers
Thursday, 2 February 2017
Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
Commencement of Legislation
Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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322. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the Acts or sections or other provisions of Acts, coming wholly or partly under the auspices of his Department, or for the commencement of which his Department is wholly or partly responsible, which are not in force and which require the future making of a commencement order; if, in each case, it is intended to make such an order; if so, when; the reason for the failure to make such an order to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5265/17]
Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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There is one Act in respect of which all sections have yet to be formally commenced by my Department, the details of which are as follows.
| Title of Act | Sections not yet commenced | Purpose of sections |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Act 2016 | Provisions not yet commenced are sections 3-6; 8-10; 12-17; 19-23. | To provide for amendments to the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 and the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 in relation to the establishment of a new administrative sanctions regime. There are additional amendments to existing provisions of the 1999 Act in relation to prosecution of offences, service of notices and increases in existing penalty provisions, including penalties in relation to REMIT. Other provisions relate to the change in the name of the Commission for Energy Regulation, the publication of a strategy statement by the CER every three years and the repeal of redundant legislation. The Act also provides for a revised wider definition of the existing Single Electricity Market (SEM) in the Electricity Regulation Act 1999. The revision to the definition of SEM is to facilitate decisions of the North/South regulators (CER and NIAUR) developing the new market rules of SEM known as the Integrated-Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) which, in turn, is required for compliance with new EU internal energy market rules. This project is well underway and section 8 of the Act in relation to SEM will be commenced when the market goes live in 2018. The remaining provisions refer to issues where CER readiness is vital for commencement. The new administrative sanction provisions, for example, involve the modification of existing licences which gives rise to timing and scheduling issues. The CER is currently assessing these issues and will advise the Department of the optimal date for the commencement of the provisions in question. It is anticipated that the remaining provisions in the Act will be commenced by way of commencement orders by Q3 2017. |
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