The Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These regulations in part revoke and largely re-enact the provisions of the Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2005. They also introduce a number of changes in the standards of performance arrangements that have been consulted on by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets as part of the electricity distribution price control review completed in December 2009.

They prescribe the sum that suppliers or electricity distributors must pay to a customer by way of compensation for failure to meet specified standards of performance in respect of the services to be provided by such suppliers or distributors, subject to certain exemptions. The sum payable may differ between domestic and non-domestic customers, and between standards.

The standards of performance applying to electricity distributors provide prescribed timeframes for supply restoration to premises in normal and severe weather conditions, supply restoration to premises in the Highlands and Islands, supply restoration in the case of multiple interruptions and in cases where supply is interrupted due to operation of the distributor’s fuse. The standards also require estimates for connection and prior notice of planned supply interruptions to be provided within a prescribed timeframe and cover complaints relating to voltage levels.

There are specific standards for electricity suppliers relating to a notification for a change in method of payment or query as to an account by a customer, and in respect of notifications to a supplier that a meter may be operating outside the margins of error or where a pre-payment meter is not operating so as to permit a supply to be given.

There are common standards for both electricity distributors and suppliers in respect of making and keeping appointments, making payments to customers required under these Regulations, and preparing and making available a statement describing customer’s rights under these Regulations.

The main changes in the new Regulations are:

(a) to introduce a new standard for single faults that interrupt 5,000 or more customers’ premises;

(b) to introduce a new standard for instances where rota disconnections are required in order to reduce the demand for electricity to the level of capacity that is available;

(c) to clarify the circumstances in which notice under regulation 14 is required in respect of planned interruptions;

(d) to update the compensation levels attached to the standards to take account of inflation; and

(e) to update the thresholds for normal and severe weather conditions.

The Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2005 are revoked (regulation 2) subject to the transitional provisions in regulation 1 of these Regulations.