The Electricity and Gas (Carbon Emissions Reduction) Order 2008

PART 1 E+W+S Introduction

Citation and commencement E+W+S

1.  This Order may be cited as the Electricity and Gas (Carbon Emissions Reduction) Order 2008 and comes into force on the day after the day on which this Order is made.

Commencement Information

I1 Art. 1 in force at 31.1.2008, see art. 1

Interpretation E+W+S

2.—(1) In this Order—

“the 2001 Order” means the Electricity and Gas (Energy Efficiency Obligations) Order 2001(1);

“the 2004 Order” means the Electricity and Gas (Energy Efficiency Obligations) Order 2004(2);

“carbon emissions reduction obligation” means the reduction in carbon emissions a supplier must achieve in the obligation period;

“cogeneration” means the simultaneous generation in one process of thermal energy and—

(a)

electrical energy;

(b)

mechanical energy; or

(c)

both electrical and mechanical energy(3);

F1 ...

“domestic customer” means an owner or occupier of domestic premises in Great Britain who is supplied with electricity or gas at those premises wholly or mainly for domestic purposes;

“domestic energy user” means a person who uses energy in domestic premises in Great Britain wholly or mainly for domestic purposes;

“energy” means energy from coal, electricity, gas, geothermal sources, liquid petroleum gas, oil, solar power, water, wind or wood;

[F2 “energy assessor” means a person with any of the following qualifications—

(a)

City and Guilds (6176) in Energy Awareness;

(b)

Level 3 of the National Vocational Qualification 6049-03 (Provide Energy Efficiency Services);

(c)

a qualification based on units one to five of the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Home and Community Energy Advisers which qualification is awarded by a body which has been approved and quality assured by the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator; or

(d)

an equivalent qualification that is recognised by a member State of the European Union, an EEA State or Turkey;]

“group of companies” means—

(a)

a holding company; and

(b)

the wholly-owned subsidiaries of that holding company;

“holding company” has the same meaning as in section 736 of the Companies Act 1985(4);

[F2 “home energy advice package” has the meaning given in Schedule A1;]

“householder” has the meaning given by Schedule 1;

[F3 “insulation obligation” means the amount of a supplier’s carbon emissions reduction obligation which is to be achieved by the promotion of measures in accordance with article 9(1A);]

“lifetime tonnes of carbon dioxide” means the amount of carbon dioxide that is expected to be saved over the lifetime of the measures to be promoted under this Order;

[F2 “loft insulation plus” means—

(a)

the provision to a domestic energy user of loft insulation which adds to existing loft insulation which is at least 60mm in depth and where that additional insulation is installed by a person with appropriate experience or qualifications; or

(b)

the promotion of loft insulation through a retail outlet,

where the provision or promotion, as applicable, takes place between 11th September 2008 and 31st July 2009;]

F1 ...

“micro-cogeneration unit” means a cogeneration unit with a maximum capacity below 50 kW_e;

“new supplier” has the meaning given by article 4(5);

“notification” means notification in writing and includes notification by electronic mail or facsimile;

“obligation period” has the meaning given by article 6(3) or 6(4);

“overall carbon emissions reduction target” means the target for the promotion of a reduction in carbon emissions stated in article 3(1) and referred to in section 103 of the Utilities Act 2000;

[F3 “overall insulation target” has the meaning given by article 3(1)(a);]

[F3 “overall super priority group target” has the meaning given by article 3(1)(b);]

“priority group” means the group of domestic energy users where each member—

(a)

is in receipt of at least one of the benefits described in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2;

(b)

is in receipt of at least one of the credits described in paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 and has a relevant income of [F4 £16,190] or less (where “relevant income” has the same meaning as in Part 1 of the Tax Credits Act 2002(5)); or

(c)

is at least 70 years old;

[F3 “professionally installed” means installed by a person, other than the householder, who has appropriate experience or qualifications;]

[F3 “qualifying component” means—

(a)

child tax credit which includes a disability or severe disability element;

(b)

a disabled child premium;

(c)

a disability premium, enhanced disability premium or severe disability premium;

(d)

a pensioner premium, higher pensioner premium or enhanced pensioner premium;]

[F2 “real-time display” means a device which, together with a transmitter used in connection with it, provides information relating to—

(a)

a domestic energy user’s electricity consumption; and

(b)

the cost of that consumption,

and does so at the time the consumption occurs;]

[F2 “short-life battery” means a battery which is not expected to power—

(a)

a real-time display; or

(b)

a transmitter used in connection with such a display,

for more than one year under normal conditions of use;]

“subsidiary” has the meaning given by section 736 of the Companies Act 1985;

[F3 “super priority group” means the group of domestic energy users in the priority group where each member is in receipt of—

(a)

child tax credit and has a relevant income below £16,190 (where “relevant income” has the same meaning as in Part 1 of the Tax Credits Act 2002);

(b)

income-related employment and support allowance, which must include a work-related activity or support component, and—

(i)

has parental responsibility for a child under the age of five who ordinarily resides with that member; or

(ii)

is in receipt of a qualifying component;

(c)

income-based job seeker’s allowance and—

(i)

has parental responsibility for a child under the age of five who ordinarily resides with that member; or

(ii)

is in receipt of a qualifying component;

(d)

income support and—

(i)

has parental responsibility for a child under the age of five who ordinarily resides with that member; or

(ii)

is in receipt of a qualifying component;

or

(e)

state pension credit;]

[F3 “super priority group obligation” means the amount of a supplier’s carbon emissions reduction obligation which is to be achieved by the promotion of measures in accordance with article 13A;]

“supplier” has the meaning given by article 4;

“U value” means the measure in W/m²K of heat transmission through a wall.

(2) In this Order, subject to article 10, a qualifying action means—

(a) a demonstration action;

(b) a market transformation action;

(c) subject to article 14, a priority group flexibility action; or

(d) a standard action.

(3) In this Order—

(a) a demonstration action is an action which is reasonably expected to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions;

[F5 (b) a market transformation action means—

(i) between 1st April 2008 and 31st March 2011 the provision of microgeneration units where such provision will achieve a reduction in carbon emissions;

(ii) the provision of solid wall insulation where such provision will achieve a reduction in carbon emissions;

(iii) the provision of a real-time display;

(iv) the provision of a home energy advice package;

(v) between 1st April 2008 and 31st March 2011 the provision of any other action which will achieve a reduction in carbon emissions but which the Authority did not determine to be a qualifying action under the 2001 Order; or

(vi) on and from 1st April 2011 the provision of any other action which will achieve a reduction in carbon emissions but which the Authority did not determine to be a qualifying action under the 2004 Order;

(c) a priority group flexibility action means the provision to a householder within paragraph (a) or (b) of the priority group—

(i) between 1st April 2008 and 31st March 2011 of ground source heat pumps in respect of a property which does not have a mains gas supply; or

(ii) of solid wall insulation which lowers the U-value of the walls to 0.5 W/m²K or less;]

[F6 (d) a standard action means an action which—

(i) will achieve a reduction in carbon emissions; or

(ii) is the provision of a real-time display or a home energy advice package.]

(4) Paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 has effect.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in art. 2(1) revoked (21.7.2009) by The Electricity and Gas (Carbon Emissions Reduction) (Amendment) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/1904), arts. 1, 3(4)

F2 Words in art. 2(1) inserted (21.7.2009) by The Electricity and Gas (Carbon Emissions Reduction) (Amendment) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/1904), arts. 1, 3(2)

F3 Words in art. 2(1) inserted (31.7.2010) by The Electricity and Gas (Carbon Emissions Reduction) (Amendment) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/1958), arts. 1, 3(2)

F4 Sum in Art. 2 substituted (31.7.2010) by The Electricity and Gas (Carbon Emissions Reduction) (Amendment) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/1958), arts. 1, 3(3)

F5 Art. 2(3)(b)(c) substituted (31.7.2010) by The Electricity and Gas (Carbon Emissions Reduction) (Amendment) Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/1958), arts. 1, 3(4)

F6 Art. 2(3)(d) substituted (21.7.2009) by The Electricity and Gas (Carbon Emissions Reduction) (Amendment) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/1904), arts. 1, 3(7)

Commencement Information

I2 Art. 2 in force at 31.1.2008, see art. 1

(1)

S.I. 2001/4011, as amended by S.I. 2003/1180.

(2)

S.I. 2004/3392.

(3)

Cogeneration is also commonly referred to as combined heat and power in the United Kingdom.

(4)

1985 c.6. Sections 736 and 736A were substituted for the original section by section 144(1) of the Companies Act 1989 (c.40).

(5)

2002 c.21.