Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Act 2023

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Definitions

1. In this Act—

“Act of 1999” means the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 ;

“applicable date” has the meaning given to it by section 9 (1)(a);

“Commission” means the Commission for Regulation of Utilities;

“distribution system operator” means the holder of a licence granted under section 14(1)(g) of the Act of 1999;

“domestic electricity account” means an electricity account in respect of which a meter point registration number has been assigned and which—

(a) is held by a final customer with an electricity supplier, and

(b) is identified by the distribution system operator as being subject to distribution use of system charges at the rate for urban domestic customers (DG1) or the rate for rural domestic customers (DG2) set out in the publication known as the “ESB Networks Schedule of Distribution Use of System Charges” approved by the Commission and for the time being in place;

“effective date” has the meaning given to it by section 4 (1)(e);

“electricity costs emergency benefit payment” has the meaning given to it by section 5 (2);

“electricity supplier” means the holder of a licence granted under paragraph (b) or (h) of section 14(1) of the Act of 1999;

“final customer” has the same meaning as it has in section 2(1) of the Act of 1999;

“hardship meter” means a meter installed for a final customer by an electricity supplier where the final customer is in financial difficulty;

“hardship meter account” means a domestic electricity account held by a final customer for whom a hardship meter has been installed;

“low usage electricity account” means a domestic electricity account which is not a micro-generation account, identified by the distribution system operator as having less than 150 kilowatts of electricity consumed in each period of three months in the four consecutive periods of three months occurring in the period beginning on 1 July 2022 and ending on 30 June 2023;

“meter point registration number” means the unique eleven digit number assigned to an electricity account and meter;

“micro-generation account” means a domestic electricity account held by a final customer engaged in micro-generation of electricity;

“micro-generation of electricity” means the generation of electricity from renewable energy pursuant to a connection agreement between the final customer and the distribution system operator;

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications;

“No. III Scheme” means the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme III established under section 2 ;

“operative date” has the meaning given to it by section 8 (1);

“payment period” means each of the following:

(a) the period commencing on 1 December 2023 and ending on 31 December 2023,

(b) the period commencing on 1 January 2024 and ending on 29 February 2024, and

(c) the period commencing on 1 March 2024 and ending on 30 April 2024;

“prescribe” means prescribe by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“registered vulnerable customer” means a vulnerable customer entered on the register of vulnerable customers maintained by the distribution system operator under Regulation 4(2)(c) of the European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity and Gas) (Consumer Protection) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 463 of 2011);

“relevant date” has the meaning given to it by section 4 (1)(a);

“relevant period” means the period commencing on the date of the passing of this Act and ending on 31 July 2024;

“renewable energy” has the meaning given to it by Article 2 of Directive 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019¹ ;

“submeter” means a submeter installed by an electricity supplier, for the purposes of a supplier submeter account, on, at or near the dwelling occupied by a final customer who holds the supplier submeter account with the electricity supplier;

“Submeter Support Scheme” means the scheme established under section 7 ;

“submeter support scheme payment” has the meaning given to it by section 9 ;

“supplier submeter account” means an electricity account, other than a domestic electricity account, held by a final customer who is a domestic customer with an electricity supplier, assigned a unique identifying number by the electricity supplier, whereby the final customer purchases credit on the account in order to receive electricity;

“vulnerable customer” has the meaning given to it by Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity and Gas) (Consumer Protection) Regulations 2011.

¹ OJ No. L158 14.6.2019, p. 125