A 1101
I assent.
(L.S.) GEORGE VELLA
President
23rd July, 2021
ACT No. XLIX of 2021
AN ACT to amend the Regulator for Energy and Water Services Act,
Cap. 545.
BE IT ENACTED by the President,  by and with the advice and
consent of the House of Represent atives, in this present Parlia ment
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-
Short title, 
scope and commencement.
Cap. 545.1. (1) The short title of this Act is the Regulator for Energy
and Water Services (Amendment) Act, 2021 and this Act shall be read
and construed as one with the Regulator for Energy and Water Se rvices
Act, hereinafter referred to as "the principal Act". 
(2) The scope of this Act is to amend the Regulator for Ener gy
and Water Services Act to stre ngthen the independence of the
Regulator and to transpose certain provisions of Directive (EU)  2019/
944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 201 9 on
common rules for the internal m arket for electricity and amending
Directive 2012/27/EU (recast).
(3) The provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have come into
force on the 31st December 2020.
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
A 1102
Substitution of 
article 3 of the 
principal Act.2. Article 3 of the principal Act shall be substituted by the
following new article:
"3. (1) There shall be a legally distinct body as
established by this Act, to be known as the Regulator for
Energy and Water Services, hereinafter referred to as the"Regulator" which shall cons ist of a Chairman and not
less than four (4) and not more than six (6) othermembers. 
(2) The Regulator shall be functionally independent
from other public or private entities. The staff and thepersons responsible for the m anagement of the Regulator
shall act independently from any market interest andshall not seek or take direct instructions fromGovernment or other public or private entities when
carrying out its regulatory tasks. This requirement shall
be without prejudice to close c ooperation, as appropriate,
with other relevant national authorities or to general
policy guidelines issued by the Government not related to
its regulatory powers and duties. 
(3) The Regulator shall take autonomous decisions,
independently from any political body.
(4) The Regulator shall have all the necessary
human and financial resources it needs to carry out itsduties and exercise its powers in an effective and efficient
manner.
(5) The Regulator shall have a separate annual
budget and autonomy in the implementation of thebudget.
(6) The members of the Board of the Regulator shall
be appointed based on objective, transparent andpublished criteria, in an independent and impartial
procedure, which ensures that the candidates have thenecessary skills and experience.
(7) The members of the Board of the Regulator shall
be appointed by the Minister f or a term of five (5) years
or for such longer period as may be specified in theinstrument of appointment subject to a maximum term ofseven (7) years but the members so appointed may be re-
appointed, once only, on the expiration of their term of
office for a term of five (5) years or for such longerperiod as may be specifi ed in the instrument of
appointment subject to a ma ximum term of seven (7)
years.
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
A 1103
An appropriate rotation scheme for the appointment of
the members of the Board of the Regulator shall be put in
place, in terms of which the end date of the term of office
of the Board members is not the same for all members.
(8) The Minister may designa te one (1) of the other
members of the Board of the Regulator as Deputy
Chairman and the member so  designated shall have all
the powers and perform all th e functions of the Chairman
during his absence or inabi lity to act as Chairman or
during any vacancy in the office of Chairman; and the
Minister may also, in any of the above circumstances,
appoint another person to act as Chairman and in such acase the foregoing provisions s hall apply in respect of that
person.
(9) A person shall not be qualified to hold office as a
member of the Board of the Regulator if he:
(a) is a Minister, Parliamentary Secretary
or a member of the House; or
(b) is a judge or magistrate; or
( c ) h a s  a  f i n a n c i a l  o r  o t h e r  i n t e r e s t  i n  a n y
enterprise or activity which is likely to affect the
discharge of his functions as a member of the Board
of the Regulator.
(10) Subject to the provisions of this article, the
office of a member of the Board of the Regulator shallbecome vacant:
(a) at the expiration of his term of office; or
(b) if any circumstances arise that, if he
were not a member of the Board of the Regulator,
would cause him to be dis qualified for appointment
as such.
(11)  A member of the Board of the Regulator may
only be removed from office by the Minister if suchmember is unfit to continue i n office for any one or more
of the following reasons:
(a) if the member is found unable to act
independently from any market interests;
(b) if the member is found taking
instructions or directions from any other public or
private entity or person in the exercise of the
regulatory functions assigned to the Regulator;
(c) where such member has been found
guilty of misconduct under any law.
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
A 1104
Amendment of 
article 4 of the principal Act.3. Article 4 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph (b) thereof, the words "Directive 2009/
72/ EC" shall be substituted by the words "Directive (EU) 2019/
944"; and
(b) immediately after the words "Energy Charter Treaty."
there shall be added the following new paragraph:
"The Regulator is hereby designated as the single
regulatory authority at nati onal level for the purposes of
Directive (EU) 2019/944 and EU Directive 2009/73/EC.".(12) If a member resigns or if the office of a member
of the Board of the Regulator is otherwise vacant or if a
member is for any reason una ble to perform the functions
of his office, the Minister shall take all appropriatemeasures to fill the vacancy  so created, subject to the
provisions of sub-articles (9), (10) and (11).
(13)  Any member of the Board of the Regulator who
has any direct or indirect i nterest in any contract or
business made or proposed to be made by the Regulator,not being an interest which disqualifies such member
from remaining a member, shal l disclose the nature of his
interest at the first meeting of the Board of the Regulator
after the relevant facts have come to his knowledge; such
disclosure shall then be recorded in the minutes of the
meeting of the Board of the Regulator, and the memberhaving an interest as aforesaid shall withdraw from any
meeting at which such contract is discussed. Where the
interest of the member is such as to disqualify him fromremaining a member, he shall immediately report the fact
to the Board of the Regulator and submit his resignation.
Any disclosure under this sub-article shall be notified bythe Regulator to the Minister without delay.
(14) Any member of the Board of the Regulator shall
avoid any conflict of intere st when acting as a member of
the Board. A member of t he Board shall preserve
confidentiality on information obtained and matterspertaining to the Regulator during and beyond the end of
the mandate.
Where the interest of the member is such as to
disqualify him from remaining a member, he shall report
the fact immediately to the Board of the Regulator andtender his resignation. Any disclosure under this sub-
article shall be communicated by the Regulator to the
Minister without delay.".
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
A 1105
 Amendment of 
article 5 of the 
principal Act.4. Article 5 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows:
(a) sub-article (1) thereof shall be amended as follows:
(i) the words "independent ly and impartially" shall
be substituted by the words "independently, transparently
and impartially";
(ii) in paragraph (m) thereof the words "positions
and actions." shall be substituted by the words "positionsand actions;" and immediately thereafter there shall be
added the following new paragraph:
"(n) to carry out investigations into the
functioning of the electricity market, and to decideupon and impose any necessary and proportionate
measures to promote effective competition and
ensure the proper functioning of the market. Whereappropriate, the Regulator shall also have the power
to cooperate with the national competition authority
and the financial market regulators or theCommission in conducting an investigation relating
to competition law."; and
(b) in sub-article (2) thereof the words "shall also
independently and impartially" shall be substituted by the word s
"independently, transparently and impartially".
Amendment of 
article 12 of the principal Act.5. In sub-article (1) of article 12 of the principal Act,
immediately after the words "Agency for the Cooperation of Ener gy
Regulators," there shall be added the words "or infringements o f
Regulation (EU) 2019/943, the netw ork codes adopted pursuant to
Article 59 of that Regulation, the guidelines adopted pursuant to
Article 61 of that Regulation an d on electricity undertakings n ot
complying with their obligations under Regulation (EU) 2019/943 ".
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
A 1106
Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 488 of th e
13th July, 2021.
CLAUDETTE BUTTIGIEG
Deputy Speaker
RAYMOND SCICLUNA
Clerk of the House of Representatives
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
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