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These Regulations give further legal effect to Directive No. 2003/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 96/92/EC. The purpose of these Regulations is to provide clarity and consistency as to those decisions of the CER that may be appealed to an Appeals Panel.
The Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Public Service Obligations) Order 2002, (S.I. No. 217 of 2002), is amended by the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Public Service Obligations) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2005, (S.I. No. 511 of 2005), of 5 August 2005 so as to allow for the imposition of a further public service obligation on ESB, in the interest of security of supply. This Order places a requirement on ESB to procure temporary peaking capacity to meet short-term peak demand. It also provides for the compensation of ESB for the additional costs incurred in complying with this obligation.
The EU Commission Decision dated 14 July 2004 approving this Public Service Obligation measure follows below.
The European Communities (Cross-border Electricity Network Access) Regulations 2005 give effect to Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No. 1228/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity.
The Regulations provide for a penalty regime and allow the CER to prosecute offences against those persons who fail or refuse to comply with a requirement of the afore-mentioned EC Regulation.
These Regulations give further legal effect to Directive No. 2003/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26th June 2003, concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 96/92/EC, not already implemented by the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 and the European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) Regulations 2000. These Regulations provide, inter alia, for the strengthening of independent regulation, better levels of consumer protection, the licensing of a Public Electricity Supplier, the designation of a Supplier of Last Resort, the enhancing of security of supply provisions and other matters.
ESB Legislation
The purpose of this Bill is to raise ESB's statutory borrowing limit.
EU Electricity Directives / Regulations
Electricity Regulatory Matters
This S.I. was signed by the Minister on 23 July 2003. These Regulations give further legal effect to Directive No. 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19th December 1996, concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity, by amending the European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 445 of 2000), to provide for the first Chief Executive of EirGrid to be appointed by the Directors of the company and to facilitate EirGrid becoming operational as Transmission System Operator.
This S.I. was signed by the Minister on 16 April 2002. These Regulations give further legal effect to Directive No. 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19th December 1996, concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity, by amending the European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 445 of 2000), to provide that ESB shall make resources available to ESB National Grid Business Unit and to EirGrid until such time as the transfer scheme provided for by Regulation 13 of S.I. No. 445 of 2000 and the infrastructure agreement provided for by Regulation 18 of S.I. No. 445 of 2000 have been made.
This S.I. was signed by the Minister on 20 December 2000. These Regulations give legal effect to Directive No. 96/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19th December 1996, concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity, not already implemented by the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999, by providing for the designation of a Transmission System Operator, the designation of a Distribution System Operator, and the unbundling of the accounts of electricity undertakings, and other matters.
Public Service Obligations (PSO)
This S.I. was signed by the Minister on 23 May 2002. The Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Public Service Obligations) Order 2002 (PSO Order) provides for the imposition on ESB of public service obligations which will require ESB to purchase, up until 31 December 2019, the output of certain peat and renewable, sustainable or alternative electricity generating stations, in the interests of security of supply and environmental protection respectively.
The PSO Order provides for the introduction of a PSO levy mechanism with effect from 1 January 2003 to compensate ESB for the additional costs incurred in complying with these public service obligations. The Order allocates the PSO levy among final customers of electricity on the basis of the maximum import capacity of 3 separate categories of electricity accounts. The PSO Order specifies the role of the CER and the collection and other duties of suppliers, the distribution system operator and the transmission system operator.
Electricity Trading Arrangements
This S.I. was made by the Commission for Energy Regulation, with the consent of the Minister, on 17 July 2003. These regulations establish a new system of trading in electricity replacing the existing system of trading in electricity. The new system of trading will be a mandatory centralised pool. All generators and suppliers unless exempted will be required to buy and sell electricity through the pool. The regulations make further provision for supplemental rules to be developed by the Commission to give effect to the new system of trading in electricity.
Electricity Market Opening
This S.I. was signed by the Minister on 21 November 2003. This Order varies the consumption threshold for eligible electricity customers in Section 27(2) of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (as varied by the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Eligible Customer) Order 2002). By varying the eligibility threshold from 1 Giga Watt hour to 0.1 Giga Watt hour, it provides for an increase in the level of electricity market opening to approximately 56% with effect from 19 February 2004.
By further varying the eligibility threshold from 0.1 Giga Watt hour to 0.1 kilowatt hour with effect from 19 February 2005 it provides, to all intents and purposes, for 100% electricity market opening.
This S.I was signed by the Minister on 9 January 2002. This Order varies the consumption threshold for eligible electricity customers established under section 27(2) of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999. By varying the eligibility threshold from 4 Giga Watt hours to 1 Giga Watt hour, it provides for an increased level of electricity market opening to approximately 40% with effect from 19 February, 2002.
Public Consultation on Draft Electricity Bill, 2002 - Download as: WORD(1MB) PDF(2.3MB) ZIPPED PDF(968KB)