{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/electricity-class-exemptions-from-the-requirement-for-a-licence-order-1997/article-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/electricity-class-exemptions-from-the-requirement-for-a-licence-order-1997/article-2.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1997/989",
  "legislation_title": "The Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) Order 1997",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/electricity-class-exemptions-from-the-requirement-for-a-licence-order-1997",
  "path": "article/2",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) In this Order—\n“the Act” means the Electricity Act 1989;\n“additional group consumers within the 100 megawatt limit” has the meaning set out in paragraph C.2 in Schedule 3;\n“consumer” means a person to whom electricity is supplied (whether or not he is the same person as the person who supplies the electricity);\n“declared net capacity” in relation to a generating station has the meaning given to that expression in Schedule 1;\n“domestic consumer”, in relation to any supply of electricity, means a consumer who uses not more than 20,000 kilowatt hours per annum;\n“licensed generator” means the holder of a licence under section 6(1)(a) of the Act;\n“licensed supplier” means the holder of a licence under section 6(1)(c) or section 6(2) of the Act;\n“offshore installation” has the same meaning as in regulation 3 of the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995;\n“ordinary share capital” has the same meaning as in section 832(1) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988;\n“parent undertaking” shall be construed in accordance with section 258 of the Companies Act 1985;\n“pooling and settlement agreement” means the pooling and settlement agreement to which a person generating or supplying electricity may be required to become party by the licence granted to him under section 6 of the Act; and\n“qualifying group” means a group of two or more consumers which are all bodies corporate, and which either—\n(a) are each connected to each other, provided that no body corporate which is not connected to, or a parent undertaking in relation to, all of them is a parent undertaking in relation to any of them; or\n(b) are each related to each other, were related to each other on 31st March 1990 and were supplied with electricity on 31st March 1990 by the person seeking to fall within the class in question specified in Schedule 2 or 3.\n(2) The following provisions shall have effect for the purposes of this Order.\n(a) One body corporate shall be treated as associated with another if—\n(i) one of them is a subsidiary of the other; or\n(ii) both of them are subsidiaries of the same holding company;\nand “holding company” and “subsidiary” shall have the same meaning as in section 736 of the Companies Act 1985.\n(b) One body corporate shall be treated as related to another if—\n(i) one of them is a 75 per cent subsidiary of the other; or\n(ii) both of them are 75 per cent subsidiaries of a third body corporate;\nand “75 per cent subsidiary” shall be construed in accordance with section 838 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.\n(c) One body corporate shall be treated as connected to another if—\n(i) 50 per cent or more of the ordinary share capital of one of them is owned directly or indirectly by the other; or\n(ii) 50 per cent or more of the ordinary share capital of each of them is owned directly or indirectly by a third body corporate;\nand for the purpose of determining whether 50 per cent or more of the ordinary share capital of a body corporate is owned directly or indirectly by another body corporate the provisions of subsections (2) to (10) of section 838 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 shall apply in relation to this sub-paragraph as they apply in relation to subsection (1) of that section.\n(d) A person shall be treated as generating electricity at any time if he is the operator of plant or equipment which at that time—\n(i) is generating or capable of generating electricity; or\n(ii) is not capable of generating electricity only by reason of the repair or testing of the plant or equipment.\n(e) Premises shall be treated as on the same site as each other if they are—\n(i) the same premises;\n(ii) immediately adjoining each other; or\n(iii) separated from each other only by a road, railway or watercourse or by other premises occupied by the consumer in question, by any other person who together with that consumer forms a qualifying group, or by the person seeking to fall within the class in question specified in Schedule 2 or 3.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "S.I. 1995/738."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "1988 c. 1."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "1985 c. 6; section 258 was inserted by section 21 of the Companies Act 1989 (c. 40)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f4",
      "text": "Section 736 was substituted by section 144(1) of the Companies Act 1989."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "words inserted (temp. until 31.09.2000)",
      "affecting": "uksi/2000/2424",
      "affecting_title": "The Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2000"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/989/article/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T12:10:28.538385+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}