Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Warm Home Discount (Reconciliation) Regulations 2011 (“the 2011 Regulations”). The 2011 Regulations provide for the operation of a reconciliation mechanism in relation to spending by electricity suppliers under the Warm Home Discount scheme.

Regulation 2 inserts a new regulation 1A into the 2011 Regulations to specify the scheme years to which the 2011 Regulations apply. The “scheme year” is defined in regulation 2 of the Warm Home Discount Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/1033), and those regulations require the electricity suppliers participating in the Warm Home Discount scheme to provide a rebate in the scheme year to their “core group customers” (that is, domestic customers who are, or who have a partner who is, in receipt of state pension credit guarantee credit).

Regulation 3 substitutes the definition of “the Operator” in regulation 2(1) of the 2011 Regulations to appoint the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (“the Authority”) as the operator of the reconciliation mechanism for scheme year 7. Regulations 12 and 14 disapply the appeals processes and provisions for non-performance of obligations in regulations 14 and 16 of the 2011 Regulations when the Authority is the Operator.

Regulations 8 and 9 insert a new regulation 7A and amend the calculation of the final reconciliation payments in regulation 8 of the 2011 Regulations for scheme year 7, to take into account the number of rebates provided by an electricity supplier to their core group customers that are notified by the supplier as undelivered, or the number of such rebates estimated by the Authority as undelivered. The new regulation and amendments to the calculation also apply for scheme year 6 unless the Authority gives notification under regulation 7(a) of the 2011 Regulations before these Regulations come into force (that notification triggers the obligation on the Operator to calculate the final reconciliation payments for the scheme year).

Regulation 11(d) corrects a drafting error in regulation 11(5) of the 2011 Regulations. The other amendments made by these Regulations are in consequence of the amendments described above.

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