Energy Act 2016
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: (1) This Act may be cited as the Energy Act 2016.
(2) This Act, other than section 7 , comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes and different provisions.
num: 2
paragraphs: In this Act—
“Act of 1999” means Electricity Regulation Act 1999 ;
“Minister” means Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
num: 3
paragraphs: The following are repealed:
(a) the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1946 ;
(b) section 27 of the Act of 1999;
(c) section 13 (5) of the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 .
num: 4
paragraphs: The Commission for Energy Regulation (established by section 8 of the Act of 1999) shall, on and from such day as the Minister appoints by order, be known as the Commission for Regulation of Utilities or in the Irish language as An CoimisiÃºn um RialÃ¡il FÃ³ntais and references in this Act or any other Act of the Oireachtas, any instrument made under this Act or any other Act of the Oireachtas, any legal proceedings and any document to the Commission for Energy Regulation shall from that day be read as references to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.
num: 5
paragraphs: The Act of 1999 is amended by inserting after section 54 the following Part:
“PART IX
Power to Carry Out Investigations and Impose Administrative Sanction
num: 6
paragraphs: The Act of 1999 is amended by inserting after Schedule 3 the following:
num: 7
paragraphs: (1) In this section—
“authorisation”, “licence”, “Memorandum of Understanding” and “Single Electricity Market” have the same meanings, respectively, as in the Act of 1999;
“Electricity Market Regulation” means Regulation (EC) 714/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 4 on conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity;
“interim period” means the period beginning with the day on which this section comes into operation and ending immediately before the coming into operation of section 8 ;
“revised arrangements in the State and Northern Ireland” means the arrangements in the State and Northern Ireland—
(a) initially described in the Memorandum of Understanding,
(b) designed to promote the establishment and operation of a single competitive wholesale electricity market in the State and Northern Ireland, and
(c) which allow for the efficient application of the European Union rules for cross-border trade in electricity contained within or adopted pursuant to the Electricity Market Regulation as amended from time to time and as supplemented by—
(i) network codes established under Article 6 of that Regulation, and
(ii) guidelines adopted under Article 18 of that Regulation.
(2) During the interim period section 9BA of the Act of 1999 shall have effect as if references to the Single Electricity Market included references to the revised arrangements in the State and Northern Ireland.
(3) (a) During the interim period the Commission for Energy Regulation may modify the conditions of a licence or authorisation where the Commission considers it necessary or expedient to do so—
(i) for the purpose of implementing, or facilitating the operation of, the revised arrangements in the State and Northern Ireland, or
(ii) in consequence of, or for giving full effect to, those arrangements.
(b) The power to modify the conditions of a licence or authorisation under this subsection includes the power to make incidental, consequential or transitional modifications.
(c) Where a licence or authorisation is modified under this subsection, sections 19 to 22 and 29 to 32 of the Act of 1999 shall apply in relation to any such modification.
(d) Sections 20(4)(a) and (9), 21(2)(a) and 22(3)(b) of the Act of 1999 shall, for the purposes of this subsection, have effect as if references to the Single Electricity Market included references to the revised arrangements in the State and Northern Ireland.
4OJ No. L211, 14.8.2009, p.15
num: 8
paragraphs: The Act of 1999 is amended in section 2 by substituting the following for the definition of “the Single Electricity Market”:
“ ‘the Single Electricity Market’ means the arrangements in the State and Northern Ireland—
(a) initially described in the Memorandum of Understanding,
(b) designed to promote the establishment and operation of a single competitive wholesale electricity market in the State and Northern Ireland, and
(c) which allow for the efficient application of the European Union rules for cross-border trade in electricity contained within or adopted pursuant to the Electricity Market Regulation as amended from time to time and as supplemented by—
(i) network codes established under Article 6 of that Regulation, and
(ii) guidelines adopted under Article 18 of that Regulation;”.
num: 9
paragraphs: The following section is substituted for section 4 of the Act of 1999:
“4. (1) Any notice required to be served or given by or under this Act shall be addressed to the person concerned and served or given in one of the following ways:
(a) by addressing it to the person by name and delivering it to him or her;
(b) by leaving it at the address at which the person ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation;
(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to the person at the address at which he or she ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation;
(d) if an address for the service of notices has been furnished by the person, by leaving it at, or sending it by prepaid registered post addressed to him or her to, that address;
(e) by sending it by means of electronic mail or a facsimile machine, to a device or facility for the reception of electronic mail or facsimiles located at the address at which the addressee concerned carries on any profession, business or occupation or, if an address for the service of a notice has been furnished by the energy undertaking concerned, that address, but only if—
(i) the recipient’s facility for the reception of electronic mail generates a message confirming a receipt of the electronic mail, or
(ii) the sender’s facsimile machine generates a message confirming successful delivery of the total number of pages of the notice,
and it is also given in one of the other ways mentioned in any of the preceding paragraphs;
(f) where the address at which the person ordinarily resides cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry and notice is required to be served on, or given to, him or her in respect of any premises, by delivering it to a person over the age of 16 years resident in or employed on the premises, or by affixing it in a conspicuous position on or near the premises.
(2) Where the name of the person concerned cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, a notice under this Act may be addressed to ‘the occupier’, ‘the owner’ or ‘the person in charge’, as the case may be.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a company within the meaning of the Companies Acts or the Companies Act 2014 , shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its registered office, and every other body corporate and every unincorporated body shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its principal office or place of business.
(4) For the purpose of this section, an EEA company within the meaning of Part 21 of the Companies Act 2014 that establishes a branch in the State shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at the address of the branch notified under section 1302 of that Act.
(5) A person shall not at any time during the period of 3 months after a notice is affixed under subsection (1)(f) remove, damage or deface the notice without lawful authority and a person who contravenes this subsection commits an offence.
(6) A person who commits an offence under subsection (5) is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine.”.
num: 10
paragraphs: Section 6 of the Act of 1999 is amended—
(a) in subsection (2) by substituting “2 years” for “12 months”, and
(b) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (3):
“(4) Where a person is convicted of an offence in proceedings brought by the Commission the court shall, unless it is satisfied that there are special and substantial reasons for not so doing, order the person to pay to the Commission the costs and expenses, measured by the court, incurred by the Commission in relation to the investigation, detection and prosecution of the offence.
(5) Where a court imposes a fine or affirms or varies a fine imposed by another court for an offence in proceedings brought by the Commission, it shall, on the application of the Commission (made before the time of such imposition, affirmation or variation), provide by order for the payment of the amount of the fine to the Commission.”.
num: 11
paragraphs: Section 9 of the Act of 1999 is amended in subsection (1) by substituting the following paragraphs for (m) and (n):
“(m) to carry out investigations into the functioning of the electricity and gas markets,
(n) to decide upon and impose effective and proportionate measures to promote effective competition,
(o) to have regard to the benefits of developing demand-side participation in electricity markets, including Â through energy efficiency, demand-response, distributed generation, energy storage and the use of digital technologies,
(p) to have regard to the facilitation of consumers to provide, consume and trade electricity that they have generated,
(q) to have regard to the need to provide for flexibility in the trading of electricity to facilitate trading close to real time in order to better integrate renewable electricity and provide accurate price signals to the market,
(r) to have regard to the use of energy storage technologies in participating in the balancing of electricity demand and supply, and
(s) to have regard to the need to ensure that grid connection policy takes account of renewable energy policy, including any such policy in relation to community energy projects.”.
num: 12
paragraphs: Section 9 of the Act of 1999 is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1F):
“(1FA) For the purposes of subsection (1F) ‘final customer’—
(a) in the case of an electricity undertaking, has the meaning given to it by section 2, and
(b) in the case of a natural gas undertaking, has the meaning given to it by section 2 of the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 .”.
num: 13
paragraphs: The Act of 1999 is amended—
(a) in section 9D(26)(b) by substituting “€50,000” for “€15,000”,
(b) in section 9F(25)(b) by substituting “€50,000” for “€15,000”,
(c) in section 13(2) by substituting “class A fine” for “fine not exceeding £1,500”, and
(d) in section 30(4) by substituting “class A fine” for “fine not exceeding £1,500”.
num: 14
paragraphs: Section 11 of the Act of 1999 is amended—
(a) by inserting after subsection (3) the following—
“(3A) An appointment under this section as an authorised officer shall cease—
(a) on the revocation by the Commission of the appointment,
(b) if the appointment is for a fixed period, on the expiry of that period, or
(c) if the person appointed ceases to be a member of staff of the Commission, on the date on which he or she so ceases.”,
and
(b) in subsection (6) by substituting “to a class A fine” for “to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months or, at the discretion of the District Court, to both such fine and imprisonment.”.
num: 15
paragraphs: Section 14 of the Act of 1999 is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2L):
“(2M) (a) The Commission may, in carrying out its function under section 9(1F), in a licence under subsection (1)(b), specify such standards of performance and quality in connection with the supply of electricity to final customers as the Commission determines ought to be achieved.
(b) The holder of a licence referred to in paragraph (a) shall comply with such standards of performance as may be specified by the Commission in the licence concerned.”.
num: 16
paragraphs: Section 24 of the Act of 1999 is amended—
(a) in subsection (1) by inserting “has contravened,” before “may be contravening”,
(b) in subsection (2)(a) —
(i) in subparagraph (i) by inserting “has contravened,” before “may be contravening”, and
(ii) in subparagraph (ii) by inserting “constitute,” before “may constitute”,
(c) by substituting the following for subsection (4):
“(4) On consideration of any representations or objections, the Commission may give a direction to the holder of a licence or an authorisation—
(a) to take such measures as are necessary to cease the contravention or to prevent a future contravention, and
(b) where there has been a contravention, to undertake such remedial actions as are necessary to rectify the situation and to prevent a re-occurrence of the contravention concerned.”,
and
(d) in subsection (10)(a) by substituting “(where the direction or revocation concerned relates to the Single Electricity Market)” for “(where the proposed modification relates to the Single Electricity Market)”.
num: 17
paragraphs: Section 25 of the Act of 1999 is amended in subsection (2)(a) by substituting “(where the determination relates to the Single Electricity Market)” for “(where the proposed modification relates to the Single Electricity Market)”.
num: 18
paragraphs: Section 40M of the Act of 1999 is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (6):
“(7) (a) The Minister may give a direction to the Commission to close the account referred to in subsection (1).
(b) The Commission shall—
(i) close the account not later than 45 days after the date of the direction given under paragraph (a), and
(ii) pay moneys (if any) standing to the credit of the account as the Minister may direct under subsection (3).”.
num: 19
paragraphs: Schedule 1 (amended by section 44 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 ) to the Act of 1999 is amended by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph 25:
“25A. (1) The Commission shall—
(a) not later than 6 months after the coming into operation of section 19 of the Energy Act 2016, prepare and submit to the Minister an energy strategy statement in respect of the period of 3 years immediately following the year in which the energy strategy statement is so submitted, and
(b) not later than 3 months before each third anniversary of the submission to the Minister in accordance with this subparagraph of the energy strategy statement for the time being in effect, prepare and submit to the Minister an energy strategy statement in respect of the period of 3 years immediately following the year in which it is so submitted.
(2) The Minister shall, as soon as is practicable after an energy strategy statement has been submitted to him or her under subparagraph (1), cause a copy thereof to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.
(3) The Commission shall, as soon as is practicable after copies of an energy strategy statement are laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with subparagraph (2), arrange for the energy strategy statement to be published on the internet.
(4) In this section ‘energy strategy statement’ means a statement that—
(a) specifies the key objectives, outputs and related strategies, including use of resources, of the Commission in relation to the performance of its energy and safety functions and those functions not covered by section 41 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 ,
(b) except for the first energy strategy statement, includes a review of the outcomes and effectiveness of the previous energy strategy statement, and
(c) is prepared in a form and manner that is in accordance with any directions issued from time to time by the Minister.
(5) When preparing an energy strategy statement the Commission may consult such persons or bodies of persons that it considers appropriate.”.
num: 20
paragraphs: In this Part “Act of 2002” means Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 .
num: 21
paragraphs: Section 13(1) of the Act of 2002 is amended by substituting “section 16(1)(c) and (d) ” for “section 16(1)(a)(iii), (iv), (v) and (vi)”.
num: 22
paragraphs: Section 16 of the Act of 2002 is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (4):
“(4A) (a) The Commission may, in carrying out its function under section 9(1F) of the Act of 1999, in a licence under subsection (1)(a), (c) or (d), specify such standards of performance and quality in connection with the supply of natural gas to final customers as the Commission determines ought to be achieved.
(b) The holder of a licence referred to in paragraph (a) shall comply with such standards of performance as may be specified by the Commission in the licence concerned.”.
num: 23
paragraphs: (1) In this section “Regulations of 2014” means the European Union (Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 480 of 2014 ).
(2) A person who commits an offence under Regulation 4 or 5 of the Regulations of 2014 is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine, or
(b) on conviction on indictment—
(i) in case the person is an individual, to a fine not exceeding €250,000, or
(ii) in case the person is a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding 10 per cent of turnover.
(3) A market participant (within the meaning of the Regulations of 2014) or other person who commits an offence under Regulation 7 of the Regulations of 2014 is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €250,000.
(4) The Regulations of 2014 are amended—
(a) by deleting Regulation 6, and
(b) by substituting the following for Regulation 7:
“7. A market participant or other person mentioned in Article 8 of the EU Regulation who fails to comply with that Article or with Article 9 of the EU Regulation commits an offence.”.
num: 24
paragraphs: In this Part “Act of 2002” means Sustainable Energy Act 2002 .
num: 25
paragraphs: Section 10 of the Act of 2002 is amended—
(a) in subsection (3) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (c):
“(c) environmental matters, including climate change and environmental sustainability, in the person’s capacity as a representative of the commercial or not-for-profit sector or otherwise, as the case may be;”,
(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (9):
“(9) Each member of the Board shall be appointed for a period not exceeding 5 years.”,
(c) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (10):
“(10) The Minister in setting a term of appointment under subsection (8) shall consider the need for continuity of membership of the Board.”,
(d) by deleting subsections (11) and (12), and
(e) in subsection (17) by deleting “consecutive”.
num: 26
paragraphs: Section 24 of the Act of 2002 is amended by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):
“(1) The Authority shall submit to the Minister, not later than 30 June in each year, in such form as the Minister may direct, a report of its activities during the immediately preceding financial year and the Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.”.
num: 27
paragraphs: In this Part “Act of 2007” means National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 .
num: 28
paragraphs: The Act of 2007 is amended by inserting the following section after section 43:
“43A. (1) Notwithstanding any obligation to maintain secrecy or any other restriction on the disclosure or production of taxpayer information obtained by or furnished to the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of the Acts, the Revenue Commissioners may transfer to the Minister taxpayer information, held by them for those purposes, relating to mineral oil brought into the State and declared to the Revenue Commissioners in accordance with excise law.
(2) Taxpayer information transferred to the Minister by the Revenue Commissioners under subsection (1) may be used only by the Minister in the exercise of his or her powers and functions, relating to the administration of the levy, under this Act or any regulations made under this Act and shall not be disclosed by the Minister to any other person for any other purpose whatsoever.
(3) Notwithstanding any obligation to maintain secrecy or any other restriction on the disclosure or production of information obtained by or furnished to the Minister, the Minister may transfer to the Revenue Commissioners information, relating to mineral oil brought into the State, furnished to the Minister by oil companies and oil consumers under section 59 and any regulations made under that section for the purposes of this Act.
(4) Information transferred to the Revenue Commissioners by the Minister under section (3) may be used only by the Revenue Commissioners in the exercise of their powers under the Acts and shall not be disclosed by the Revenue Commissioners to any other person for any other purpose whatsoever.
(5) In this section—
‘excise law’ means the statutes and the instruments made under statute that relate to the duties of excise or the management of those duties;
‘mineral oil’ has the meaning given to it by section 94 of the Finance Act 1999 ;
‘taxpayer information’ has the meaning given to it by section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ;
‘the Acts’ has the meaning given to it by section 1078 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .”.
num: 29
paragraphs: Section 44A of the Act of 2007 is amended by inserting the following definition:
“ ‘reporting period’, in respect of each obligation period, means a period of 3 consecutive months beginning on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October;”.
num: 30
paragraphs: Section 44G of the Act of 2007 is amended—
(a) in subsection (1) by substituting “reporting period” for “obligation period”,
(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):
“(2A) (a) The Agency shall, in respect of each reporting period, make a determination specifying the closing date for the submission to it of applications for biofuel obligation certificates.
(b) The Agency shall publish a determination under paragraph (a) on its website as soon as is practicable after the date of its making.”,
and
(c) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (3):
“(3) An application for a biofuel obligation certificate may be made at any time during the reporting period in which the biofuel was disposed of as referred to in subsection (1) but in any case not later than the closing date specified in respect of the reporting period concerned in a determination made under subsection (2A).”.
num: 31
paragraphs: Section 44H of the Act of 2007 is amended—
(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):
“(1) The Agency shall give to each biofuel obligation account holder, not later than the date specified in respect of the reporting period concerned in a determination made under subsection (3A), a statement in such form as the Agency determines specifying—
(a) the number of biofuel obligation certificates (if any) held to the credit of the biofuel obligation account concerned on the date of the statement,
(b) the date of each such certificate, and
(c) such other particulars relating to each such certificate as the Agency determines.”,
(b) by deleting subsection (2), and
(c) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3):
“(3A) (a) The Agency shall, in respect of each reporting period, make a determination specifying the date by which it shall issue—
(i) a statement referred to in subsection (1), and
(ii) a statement referred to in subsection (3).
(b) The Agency shall publish a determination under paragraph (a) on its website as soon as is practicable after the date of its making.”.
num: 32
paragraphs: Section 44I of the Act of 2007 is amended by substituting “75 days” for “35 days”.
num: 33
paragraphs: Section 72 (4) of the Registration of Title Act 1964 is amended by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (b):
“(b) is intended to be used, or is used, in providing either or both of the following:
(i) a pipeline for the transmission of gas;
(ii) ducts, cables, pipes or conduits for any other purpose where such purpose is expressed in an agreement described in paragraph (a) (whether such agreement is made before or after the coming into operation of section 33 of the Energy Act 2016),
and”.
num: 34
paragraphs: Section 6 (inserted by section 23 of the Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act 2015 ) is amended by renumbering subsection (2) (where it secondly occurs) and subsection (3) as subsection (3) and subsection (4) respectively.