UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Tom Sprange KC, Andrea Stauber, Martina Antosova and Lucy Pearson, King & Spalding International LLP
• Gas Act 1986; • Electricity Act 1989; • Competition Act 1998; • Enterprise Act 2002; • Utilities Act 2000;
Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) assumed the role of managing Britain’s long-term energy supply, with a special focus on meeting net zero targets. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) moni- tors and enforces financial regulation across the commodities markets, including the energy markets. Ofgem and the FSA first put co-oper- ation arrangements in place in 2002. Ofgem is the principal regulatory authority for UK REMIT (the retained EU law version of the Regulation on wholesale energy market integrity and transpar- ency (Regulation 1227/2011)). Citizens Advice is an independent watchdog that operates across the whole of the economy. Its core role in the energy sector is to secure a fair deal for energy customers. It is a registered charity. Elexon is a non-profit-making entity responsible for managing the balancing mechanism and the imbalance price process. The British Energy Security Strategy (published by BEIS in April 2022) stated that the UK gov- ernment would appoint an Electricity Networks Commissioner to advise it on policies and regu- latory changes in order to accelerate progress on network infrastructure. On 6 July 2022, Nick Winser was appointed as the UK’s first Electric- ity Networks Commissioner and remains in the role as of May 2025. Between July 2022 and July 2023, the Electricity Networks Commis- sioner engaged with stakeholders across the electricity transmission network and published an independent report setting out his recom- mendations to halve the total development time for transmission infrastructure.
• Energy Act 2004, Energy Act 2008, Energy Act 2010, Energy Act 2011, and Energy Act 2023; • Electricity and Gas (Market Integrity and Transparency) (Enforcement etc) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1389); and • Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018. Ofgem’s principal duty is to protect the inter- ests of gas and electricity consumers. Ofgem is governed by GEMA. For details of the concur- rent powers Ofgem shares with the CMA, please see 2.5 Surveillance to Detect Anti-Competitive Behaviour . Northern Ireland has its own national regulatory authority, the NIAUR (see 1.4 Sale of Power Industry Assets ), which works in close co-oper- ation with Ofgem. Ofgem is responsible for the process of accrediting renewable energy instal- lations and issuing Northern Ireland Renewable Obligation Certificates (NIROCs) to generators in Northern Ireland. In Great Britain, NESO owns and maintains the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales. NESO is responsible for ensuring the stable and secure operation of the national electricity transmission system (NETS), including the adequacy of supply to satisfy the demand for electricity. The Department for Business, Energy and Indus- trial Strategy (BEIS), the UK government depart- ment that previously oversaw the energy sector, was dissolved in early 2023. The Department for
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