In these Regulations—

• “automatic award” means a sum of money paid by an electricity supplier to its customer (whether by credit to the customer’s electricity account or otherwise) pursuant to the energy rebate scheme;

• “couple” means—

  1. a

     a man and a woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household;

  2. b

     a man and a woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife;

  3. c

     two people of the same sex who are civil partners of each other and are members of the same household; or

  4. d

     two people of the same sex who are not civil partners of each other but are living together as if they were civil partners,

  and for the purposes of paragraph (d), two people of the same sex are to be regarded as living together as if they were civil partners if, but only if, they would be regarded as living together as husband and wife were they instead two people of the opposite sex;

• “discounted tariff” means special terms on an electricity account offered by an electricity supplier to its domestic customers who are regarded by the supplier as being part of a vulnerable group;

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

• “electricity supplier” has the meaning given by regulation 3;

• “energy efficiency measures” means measures or schemes offered by electricity suppliers to their domestic customers with a view to improving energy efficiency or reducing energy consumption in the homes of those customers;

• “energy rebate scheme” means a scheme2 known by that name established pursuant to arrangements made between the Secretary of State and electricity suppliers under which those suppliers—

  1. a

     make an automatic award to certain domestic customers who are relevant SPC claimants in respect of their electricity account, and

  2. b

     contact those customers with a view to offering—

     1. i

        energy efficiency measures to the customers in their homes, and

     2. ii

        to place them on a register for priority services;

• “partner” means a member of a couple;

• “priority services” means services made available by electricity suppliers to their domestic customers who are regarded by the supplier as being part of a vulnerable group;

• “relevant SPC claimant” has the meaning given by regulation 4.