Duty on the Authority to consult and co-operate with other authorities
38. After Article 8 of the Energy Order there shall be inserted the following Article—
“Duty on the authority to have regard to the need for consultation and co-operation with other authorities
8A.—(1) When carrying out its functions as designated regulatory authority for Northern Ireland, the Authority shall, to the extent it considers necessary, consider whether there is a need to—
(a)consult and co-operate with the Agency or the designated regulatory authorities of Great Britain or other Member States;
(b)provide the Agency or the designated regulatory authorities of Great Britain or other Member States with information they may require in order to carry out their functions under the Electricity Directive, the Gas Directive, the Electricity Regulation, the Gas Regulation or the Agency Regulation; and
(c)consult relevant national authorities.
(2) In meeting its duty under paragraph (1) the Authority shall, wherever it thinks fit, co-operate with the designated regulatory authorities of Great Britain or other Member States within a regions with a view to achieving, within that region, compliance with those requirements of the Third Package which apply in relation to regions to provide for regional co-operation.
(3) In this Article.—
“region” means—
in relation to electricity, any geographical area defined in accordance with Article 12(3) of the Electricity Regulation which includes Northern Ireland; and
in relation to gas, any geographical area defined in accordance with Article 12(3) of the Gas Regulation which includes Northern Ireland;
“relevant national authority” means any of the following—
the Competition Commission;
the Office of Communications; and
the Office of Fair Trading.
(4) The provisions of this Article are without prejudice to any provision of the SEM Order.”.