# The Energy Bills Discount Scheme Pass-through Requirement (Heat Suppliers) Regulations 2023, Regulation 5: Pass-through requirement


(1) An intermediary must ensure that, as soon as reasonably practicable after it has been provided with a scheme benefit, it provides to each of its end users a pass-through amount in respect of the scheme benefit (“pass-through requirement”).
(2) An intermediary must comply with the pass-through requirement no later than the day on which the intermediary issues the next bill to the end user.
(3) An intermediary must comply with the requirements for bills and billing information under regulation 7 when it issues the next bill to an end user.
(4) Without prejudice to paragraph (1), a pass-through can be effected by one or more of the following methods—
(a) application of a credit in the next bill provided to the end user;
(b) a payment in cash or by any other means, including a bank transfer;
(c) adjusting the fixed and variable charges in the next bill provided to the end user;
(d) adjusting the amount of money taken by direct debit or the amount of a standing order;
(e) set off against an amount or part of an amount which was owed by the end user to the intermediary at the time the scheme benefit was provided to the intermediary.
(5) If the contract between the intermediary and the end user expires or is terminated before the intermediary has effected a pass-through, the intermediary must effect a pass-through to reflect the end user’s entitlement (or remaining entitlement) under these Regulations as soon as reasonably practicable following such expiry or termination.
(6) An intermediary has complied with the pass-through requirement if and to the extent it has taken reasonable steps to effect the pass-through but is unable to do so.
(7) An intermediary has not complied with the pass-through requirement if—
(a) in its capacity as customer under the EBDS Regulations or the NI EBDS Regulations, it serves an opt-out notice on a supplier for the purposes of regulation 4(4) of the EBDS Regulations or regulation 4(4) of the NI EBDS Regulations; or
(b) it fails to take all such reasonable steps as may be necessary to secure that it is provided with the scheme benefit to which it is entitled.
(8) Where an end user is also an intermediary in respect of a scheme benefit provided to that end user, that end user must comply with the pass-through requirement.
(9) In this regulation, “next bill” means—
(a) in relation to the first scheme benefit provided to an intermediary, the later of—
(i) the first bill issued after 26th May 2023; and
(ii) the first bill issued after the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which the scheme benefit is provided to the intermediary; or
(b) in relation to any subsequent scheme benefit provided to the intermediary, the first bill issued after the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which the scheme benefit is provided to the intermediary.
(10) Paragraphs (11) to (13) apply if the Secretary of State has determined and published an amount for the purposes of paragraph (14) and has not withdrawn such determination.
(11) An intermediary is not required to provide to an end-user which is a domestic heat consumer a pass-through amount which is greater than the amount for which the condition in paragraph (12) is met.
(12) The condition is that the amount determined as the charge made by the intermediary to the end-user for the provision of heating and hot water, net of the pass-through amount, is equal to the amount published by the Secretary of State under paragraph (14).
(13) If the charge referred to in paragraph (12) is less than or equal to the amount published by the Secretary of State under paragraph (14), the intermediary is not required to provide any pass-through amount to the end user.
(14) The Secretary of State may determine and publish the amount which the Secretary of State considers to be the typical cost, to a consumer that is supplied with gas, of heating and hot water, based on—
(a) the energy price support provided under the EPG scheme document;
(b) an assumption made by the SoS as to the rate at which gas is converted to heating and hot water;
(c) such other assumptions as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(15) If an intermediary has been provided with an SRE adjustment, the intermediary must take such SRE adjustment into account the next time it calculates a pass-through amount under regulation 6.
(16) An intermediary must determine pass-through amounts consistently with any determination of the Secretary of State of which it has been given notice under regulation 69(2)(b) of the EBDS Regulations or regulation 74(2)(b) of the NI EBDS Regulations.
(17) Paragraph (18) applies if an intermediary is given notice by the Secretary of State of a redetermination or a proposed redetermination of a regulation 22 matter.
(18) The intermediary must take account of the interests of domestic heat consumers whose scheme benefits may be or are affected by the redetermination—
(a) in deciding whether to make representations and what representations to make in respect of the proposed redetermination under regulation 69(3)(a)(iv) of the EBDS Regulations or regulation 74(3)(a)(iv) of the NI EBDS Regulations;
(b) in deciding—
(i) whether to request a review of the redetermination under regulation 70(4) of the EBDS Regulations or regulation 75(4) of the NI EBDS Regulations and what representations to make in such request, or
(ii) if another person requests such a review, whether to make representations and what representations to make in respect of the determination under regulation 70(6)(b) of the EBDS Regulations or regulation 75(6)(b) of the NI EBDS Regulations.
(19) In this regulation—
(a) “consumer” has the meaning given in the EPG scheme document;
(b) “domestic heat consumer” has the meaning given in the EBDS Regulations or the NI EBDS Regulations;
(c) “EPG scheme document” means—
(i) in England, Wales or Scotland, the Energy Price Guarantee for Domestic Gas Consumers in Great Britain Scheme Document, dated September 2022, as modified from time to time;
(ii) in Northern Ireland, the Energy Price Guarantee for Domestic Gas Consumers in Northern Ireland Scheme Document, dated October 2022, as modified from time to time;
(d) “regulation 22 matter” has the meaning given in the EBDS Regulations or the NI EBDS Regulations.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/455/regulation/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/energy-bills-discount-scheme-pass-through-requirement-heat-suppliers-regulations-2023/regulation-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.