Amendment Paper as at
Tuesday 13th July 2004
CONSIDERATION OF BILL
ENERGY BILL [LORDS], AS AMENDED
NEW CLAUSES
Microgeneration
Ms Secretary Hewitt
NC4
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Secretary of State—
| (a) | must prepare a strategy for the promotion of microgeneration in Great Britain; and |
| (b) | may from time to time revise it. |
(2) The Secretary of State—
| (a) | must publish the strategy within 18 months after the commencement of this section; and |
| (b) | if he revises it, must publish the revised strategy. |
(3) In preparing or revising the strategy, the Secretary of State must consider the contribution that is capable of being made by microgeneration to—
| (a) | cutting emissions of greenhouse gases in Great Britain; |
| (b) | reducing the number of people living in fuel poverty in Great Britain; |
| (c) | reducing the demands on transmission systems and distribution systems situated in Great Britain; |
| (d) | reducing the need for those systems to be modified; |
| (e) | enhancing the availability of electricity and heat for consumers in Great Britain. |
(4) Before preparing or revising the strategy, the Secretary of State must consult such persons appearing to him to represent the producers and suppliers of plant used for microgeneration, and such other persons, as he considers appropriate.
(5) The Secretary of State must take reasonable steps to secure the implementation of the strategy in the form in which it has most recently been published.
(6) For the purposes of this section "microgeneration" means the use for the generation of electricity or the production of heat of any plant—
| (a) | which in generating electricity or (as the case may be) producing heat, relies wholly or mainly on a source of energy or a technology mentioned in subsection (7); and |
| (b) | the capacity of which to generate electricity or (as the case may be) to produce heat does not exceed the capacity mentioned in subsection (8). |
(7) Those sources of energy and technologies are—
| (e) | water (including waves and tides); |
| (i) | combined heat and power systems; |
| (j) | other sources of energy and technologies for the generation of electricity or the production of heat, the use of which would, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, cut emissions of greenhouse gases in Great Britain. |
(8) That capacity is—
| (a) | in relation to the generation of electricity, 50 kilowatts; |
| (b) | in relation to the production of heat, 45 kilowatts thermal. |
(9) In this section—
"consumers" includes both existing and future consumers;
"distribution system" and "transmission system" have the same meanings as in Part 1 of the 1989 Act;
"fuel poverty" has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Sustainable Energy Act 2003 (c. 30);
"greenhouse gases" means—
| (f) | sulphur hexafluoride; |
"plant" includes any equipment, apparatus or appliance.'.
Annual report on security of energy supplies
Ms Secretary Hewitt
NC5
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Secretary of State must, in 2005 and in every subsequent calendar year—
| (a) | publish a report dealing, as regards both the short term and the long term, with the availability of electricity and gas for meeting the reasonable demands of consumers in Great Britain; and |
| (b) | lay that report before Parliament. |
(2) The report must include, in particular, overall assessments, as regards both the short term and the long term, of each of the following—
| (a) | generating capacity in Great Britain and its offshore waters so far as it will be utilised for generating electricity for introduction into transmission systems in Great Britain; |
| (b) | the availability of capacity in those systems and in distribution systems in Great Britain for transmitting and distributing electricity for supply to consumers in Great Britain; |
| (c) | the availability of capacity in infrastructure in Great Britain for use in connection with the introduction of gas into licensed pipe-line systems in Great Britain; and |
| (d) | the availability of capacity in those systems for conveying gas to consumers in Great Britain. |
(3) The report must be prepared jointly by the Secretary of State and GEMA.
(4) In this section—
"consumers" includes both existing and future consumers;
"distributing", "distribution system", "transmission system" and "transmitting" have the same meanings as in Part 1 of the 1989 Act;
"gas" and "gas transporter" have the same meanings as in Part 1 of the Gas Act 1986 (c. 44);
"infrastructure" includes pipe-line systems, terminals and other facilities but does not include licensed pipe-line systems;
"licensed pipe-line system" means a pipe-line system that is operated by a gas transporter for the conveyance of gas to any premises or another pipe-line system as authorised by his licence under section 7 of that Act;
"offshore waters" means, in relation to Great Britain—
| (a) | so much of the territorial sea of the United Kingdom as is adjacent to Great Britain; and |
| (b) | waters in a Renewable Energy Zone (within the meaning of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of this Act).'. |
Imposition of renewable transport fuel obligations
Ms Secretary Hewitt
NC7
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Secretary of State may by order impose on each transport fuel supplier of a specified description the obligation mentioned in subsection (2) (a "renewable transport fuel obligation").
(2) That obligation is an obligation, for each specified period, for the supplier to produce to the Administrator, by the specified date, evidence which—
| (a) | is of the specified kind and in the specified form; and |
| (b) | shows that during the specified period the specified amount of renewable transport fuel was supplied at or for delivery to places in the United Kingdom. |
(3) An order under subsection (1) is referred to in this Chapter as an "RTF order".
(4) Before making an RTF order the Secretary of State must consult such persons appearing to him to represent persons whose interests will be affected by the order, and such other persons, as he considers appropriate.
(5) The power to make an RTF order is subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.'.
Administrator
Ms Secretary Hewitt
NC8
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) An RTF order may, for the purposes of provision made by or under this Chapter, appoint a person as the Administrator.
(2) Such an order may—
| (a) | confer or impose powers and duties on the Administrator for purposes connected with the implementation of provision made by or under this Chapter; |
| (b) | confer discretions on the Administrator in relation to the making of determinations under such an order and otherwise in relation to his powers and duties; and |
| (c) | impose duties on transport fuel suppliers for purposes connected with the Administrator's powers and duties. |
(3) The powers that may be conferred on the Administrator by virtue of subsection (2) include, in particular—
| (a) | power to require a transport fuel supplier to provide him with such information as he may require for purposes connected with the carrying out of the Administrator's functions; |
| (b) | power to impose requirements as to the form in which such information must be provided and as to the period within which it must be provided; |
| (c) | power to impose charges of specified amounts on transport fuel suppliers. |
(4) Sums received by the Administrator by virtue of provision within subsection (3)(c) must be used by him for the purpose of meeting costs incurred by him in carrying out his functions as the Administrator.
(5) The duties that may be imposed by virtue of subsection (2)(c) include, in particular, duties framed by reference to determinations made by the Administrator.
(6) Only the following persons may be appointed as the Administrator—
| (a) | a body or other person established or appointed by or under any enactment to carry out other functions; |
| (b) | a body established by virtue of subsection (8). |
(7) Where provision is made by an RTF order for the appointment of a body or other person within subsection (6)(a), such an order may make such modifications of any enactment relating to that body or person as the Secretary of State considers appropriate for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out of the functions of the Administrator.
(8) An RTF order may—
| (a) | establish a body corporate to be appointed as the Administrator; |
| (b) | make provision for the appointment of members of that body; |
| (c) | make provision in relation to the staffing of that body; |
| (d) | make provision in relation to the expenditure of that body; |
| (e) | make provision regulating the procedure of that body; |
| (f) | make any other provision that the Secretary of State considers appropriate for purposes connected with the establishment and maintenance of that body. |
(9) The provision that may be made by virtue of subsection (8) in relation to a body corporate includes, in particular, provision conferring discretions on—
| (a) | the Secretary of State; |
| (c) | members or staff of the body. |
(10) The Secretary of State may make grants to the Administrator on such terms as the Secretary of State may determine.'.
