EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Gas (Applications for Licences and Extensions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996.

The Regulations provide for—

(i)an increase in the fees payable upon application for a gas conveyance, storage and supply licences or for an extension to an existing licence;

(ii)the correction of a minor drafting error in relation to the earlier amendment of paragraph 4 of Schedule 1;

(iii)the updating of references to provisions in the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 which has been replaced by the Companies Act 2006;

(iv)the updating of references to “the Director” to “the Authority” to reflect the current name for the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation; and

(v)amendments to the process for lodging and publishing gas licence applications in line with the removal of the Department’s consenting role in the gas licence application process following implementation of the Gas and Electricity (Internal Markets) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011.