19.—(1) The Executive may submit to the Department a scheme for the making by the Executive of energy brokering arrangements.
(2) The Department may approve a scheme submitted under subsection (1) with or without modifications.
(3) The Executive may submit to the Department proposals for amending a scheme approved under subsection (2) or a scheme replacing any such scheme and subsection (2) shall have effect in relation to those proposals or a scheme replacing an existing scheme as they have effect in relation to a scheme.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), the Executive shall give effect to a scheme for the time being approved by the Department.
(5) The Executive may, with the approval of the Department, terminate a scheme under this section; but the termination of a scheme does not affect the continued operation of any arrangements made under the scheme.
(6) In this section “energy brokering arrangements” means arrangements which—
(a)are made by the Executive with an energy supplier;
(b)involve the making available by the energy supplier to premises occupied by tenants of the Executive of supplies of electricity, gas, oil or other means of producing energy (as the case may be) on terms set out in, or determined in accordance with, the arrangements.
(7) Those arrangements may also provide for the payment of sums to the Executive by the energy supplier concerned.
(8) Any sums received by the Executive by virtue of subsection (7) shall be used for the purposes of the functions of the Executive under this section or for such other purposes as the Department may approve.
(9) In this section “energy supplier” means—
(a)the holder of a licence under Article 10(1)(c) of the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (NI 1);
(b)the holder of a licence under Article 8(1)(c) of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (NI 2);
(c)a supplier of domestic heating oil;
(d)a supplier of any other means of producing energy.