Explanatory note

These Regulations revoke, in England and Wales, the Overhead Lines (Exemption) Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/2035) (“the 1990 Regulations”) and introduce replacement regulations in those areas. Although the 1990 Regulations extend also to Scotland, the relevant legislative powers were transferred to the Scottish Ministers in 1999.

These Regulations replicate, with minor deregulatory changes, the 1990 Regulations. They provide for exemptions from the requirement for the consent of the Secretary of State under section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 to the installation or keeping installed of an electric line above ground. The exemptions are specified in regulation 3, subject in certain circumstances to the limitations in regulation 4 and the restrictions in regulation 5. The main changes from the 1990 Regulations is that broader exemptions for minor works are now provided for in regulation 3(1)(c), (e) and (f) and emergency repairs in National Parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty can be made without prior notification to the relevant planning authority (regulation 5(3)).

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.