The Electricity (Non-Fossil Fuel Sources) (England and Wales) Order 1990

Made: 14th February 1990

Laid before Parliament: 16th February 1990

Coming into force: 31st March 1990

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 32(1) and (2) of the Electricity Act 1989[^f00001], and of all other enabling powers, after consultation in accordance with the requirements of subsections (1) and (10) of that section, hereby makes the following Order:-

Citation, commencement and application

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Electricity (Non-Fossil Fuel Sources) (England and Wales) Order 1990 and shall come into force on 31st March 1990.

• (2) This Order does not apply to Scotland.

Interpretation

2

References in this Order to relevant non-fossil fuel generating stations are references to any such stations which are or may be fuelled by nuclear fuel.

Requirement to make arrangements etc

3

Each public electricity supplier in England and Wales (whose names are specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 (specified aggregate amounts of non-fossil fuel generating capacity) to this Order) shall, before 1st April 1990, make (in so far as he has not already done so) and produce to the Director evidence showing that he has made such arrangements as will secure that, subject to article 4 of this Order, for each period listed against the name of the supplier in column 2 of that Schedule, the aggregate amount of non-fossil fuel generating capacity available to him from relevant non-fossil fuel generating stations will not be less than that specified in column 3 of the Schedule in relation to that period.

4

• (1) Where any of the arrangements made by a public electricity supplier in compliance with article 3 of this Order–

• (a) provide that the availability to that supplier of some or all of the capacity of the relevant non-fossil fuel generating stations is conditional upon the satisfaction of any such requirement as is mentioned in Schedule 2 to this Order (whether the requirement in question is described in the terms of that Schedule or in terms to the like effect); and

• (b) result, on the first day of any specified period, in some or all of that capacity not being available to that supplier, by reason of any such requirement not being satisfied as was then due under those arrangements to have been satisfied,

then, in relation to any day during that or any subsequent specified period determined in accordance with paragraph (3) of this article, this Order shall have effect as if the relevant aggregate amount specified in relation to that period were the amount specified in relation to that supplier for the period which includes that day in column 3 of Schedule 1 to this Order, less (subject to the following proviso) an amount equal to the sum of any capacity whose availability is at that time conditional upon the satisfaction of such requirement or requirements and any capacity which has ceased to be available at that time by reason of the occurrence of any such event or events as are referred to in paragraph (2) of this article:

SCHEDULE 1 — SPECIFIED AGGREGATE AMOUNTS OF NON-FOSSIL FUEL GENERATING CAPACITY

1

London Electricity plc

2

SEEBOARD plc

3

Southern Electric plc

4

South Western Electricity plc

5

Eastern Electricity plc

6

East Midlands Electricity plc

7

Midlands Electricity plc

8

South Wales Electricity plc

9

Manweb plc

10

Yorkshire Electricity Group plc

11

Northern Electric plc

12

NORWEB plc

SCHEDULE 2 — CONDITIONS PRECEDENT

The requirements referred to in article 4(1)(a) of this Order are–

• (1) that the property, rights and liabilities of the Area Boards established under the Electricity Act 1947 have been transferred to the public electricity suppliers;

• (2) that such of the property, rights and liabilities of the Central Electricity Generating Board and the Electricity Council as are to be transferred to the operators of the relevant non-fossil fuel generating stations have been transferred in accordance with schemes made under section 66 of the Act;

• (3) that the operator of any relevant non-fossil fuel generating station or stations has entered into, and there has come into force, agreements with the National Grid Company plc (registered in England No. 2366977) and, where applicable, any relevant public electricity supplier in relation to for the connection of such non-fossil fuel generating station or stations to the national grid system and, where applicable, to any other relevant system of electric lines and electrical plant;

• (4) that the operator of any relevant non-fossil fuel generating station or stations and all public electricity suppliers have entered into, and there has come into force, a pooling and settlement agreement, as required by the licences granted to them under section 6 of the Act, for the purpose of calculating the payments due to or owing by the parties thereto in respect of their production and consumption of electricity;

• (5) that section 33 regulations have been made and have come into force;

• (6) to the extent that the arrangements relate to a relevant non-fossil fuel generating station which has not generated electricity before the coming into force of this Order–

• (i) that the operator of the relevant non-fossil fuel generating station has been granted consent by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate to take the station to commercial power in accordance with the site licence granted under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 in respect of that generating station; and

• (ii) that the declared net capacity of the relevant non-fossil fuel generating station has not been reduced, prior to being taken to commercial power in accordance with such a site licence, below the amount attributed to that station in the relevant arrangements.

Note:

In the above provisions–

• “the Act” means the Electricity Act 1989;

• “section 33 regulations” means regulations under section 33 of the Act; and the reference to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate is a reference to the part so known of the Health and Safety Executive, established under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

SCHEDULE 3 — TERMINATION EVENTS

The events referred to in article 4(2)(a) of this Order are–

• (1) the operator of any relevant non-fossil fuel generating station ceasing for any reason to be authorised by a licence or exemption granted under the Act to generate electricity for the purposes of giving a supply to any premises or enabling a supply to be given;

• (2) the operator of any relevant non-fossil fuel generating station defaulting in any material respect in the performance of any of its obligations to make non-fossil fuel generating capacity available under the arrangements and in the case of a default which is, in the opinion of the relevant public electricity supplier (acting reasonably), capable of remedy continuing to be in default at the expiry of 60 days following the date on which the supplier shall have given notice thereof to the operator;

• (3) a binding order being made or an effective resolution being passed for the winding up of the operator of any relevant non-fossil fuel generation station (otherwise than for the purposes of reconstruction or amalgamation on terms previously approved in writing by the relevant public electricity supplier (whose approval shall not unreasonably be withheld) and within 60 days of his appointment the liquidator of the operator not having provided to the supplier a guarantee of performance of the obligations of the operator under the arrangements in such form and amount as the supplier (acting reasonably) may require.

Note:

In the above provisions, “the Act” means the Electricity Act 1989.

Signed

John Wakeham — Secretary of State for Energy — 14th February 1990

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order imposes on public electricity suppliers in England and Wales an obligation to make arrangements to secure the availability during specified periods of specified aggregate amounts of generating capacity from non-fossil fuel generating stations. The arrangements must be made, and evidence of their making must be produced to the Director General of Electricity Supply, before 1st April 1990.

Article 2 requires that the capacity come from nuclear generating stations. Article 3 imposes the obligation and introduces Schedule 1 in which are specified, in relation to each public electricity supplier, the periods and amounts of capacity whose availability is to be secured. The amounts are specified in megawatts (one megawatt equals one million watts). Article 4 provides a mechanism whereby, if certain conditions are not satisfied (see Schedule 2) or if certain events occur (see Schedule 3), the Order is to have effect as if the relevant period specified in column 2 of Schedule 1 were replaced by a different period and, as a consequence of that, as if the relevant amount of capacity specified in column 3 of Schedule 1 were a reduced amount, the amount of the reduction being the amount of capacity which has ceased to be available by reason of (as the case may be) the condition not having been satisfied or the event having occurred.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1989 c. 29.