Energy (miscellaneous provisions) act 2012

• Enactment Date: 25 February 2012
• Act Number: 3

Number 3 of 2012
ENERGY (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 2012
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
Section
1. Short title and commencement.
2. Definitions.
PART 2
Miscellaneous Amendments to Energy Acts
Chapter 1
Superannuation of transferred staff
3. Amendment of Electricity Supply Board (Superannuation) Act 1942.
4. Superannuation of transferred employees of Bord Gáis Éireann.
Chapter 2
Theft of electricity and gas and deemed contracts
5. Theft of electricity and gas and deemed contracts.
Chapter 3
Electricity and Gas Safety
6. Electrical investigation officer.
7. Regulation of electrical contractors by Commission regulating safety.
8. Amendment of section 9J(1) of Act of 1999.
9. Amendment of sections 9L, 9M and 9N and Part IIA of Act of 1999.
Chapter 4
Energy efficiency
10. Definitions (Chapter 4).
11. Requirements on energy suppliers.
12. Voluntary agreements by energy suppliers.
13. Performance of Minister’s functions by other person.
14. Energy Efficiency Fund.
15. Service of notices and directions.
16. Revocation.
Chapter 5
LPG and Natural Gas
17. LPG — amendment of Act of 1999.
18. LPG and natural gas — enforcement.
19. Amendment of Schedule to Act of 1999.
Chapter 6
Dissolution of Bord Gáis Éireann Subsidiary Companies and Transitional Provisions
20. Dissolution of Bord Gáis Éireann Subsidiary Companies and Transitional Provisions.
Chapter 7
Amendment of National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007
21. Amendment of National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007.
Chapter 8
Repeals
22. Repeals.
Acts Referred to
Companies Act 1963 1963, No. 33 Companies Acts Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 Electricity (Supply) Act 1927 1927, No. 27 Electricity Regulation Act 1999 1999, No. 23 Electricity Supply Board (Superannuation) Act 1942 1942, No. 17 Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010 2010, No. 11 Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995 1995, No. 35 Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 2006, No. 40 Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 2002, No. 10 Gas Act 1976 1976, No. 30 National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 2007, No. 7 Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act 2010 2010, No. 4
Number 3 of 2012
ENERGY (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 2012
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PENSION ENTITLEMENTS OF EMPLOYEES OF BORD GÁIS ÉIREANN WHO TRANSFER TO GASLINK AND OF EMPLOYEES OF THE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY BOARD WHO TRANSFER TO EIRGRID PLC AND ESB NETWORKS LTD., TO AMEND THE ENERGY (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 1995 AND THE ELECTRICITY REGULATION ACT 1999, TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROMOTION OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY, TO REPEAL CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF ACTS RELATING TO GAS OR ELECTRICITY AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.
[25th February, 2012]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART 1 Preliminary and General
	Short title and commencement.	1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2012.
	(2) This Act comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or provisions.
	Definitions.	2.— In this Act—
	“Act of 1999” means Electricity Regulation Act 1999 ;
	“Act of 2002” means Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 ;
	“Act of 2006” means Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 ;
	“Act of 2010” means Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act 2010 ;
	“Minister” means Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources;
	“Regulations of 2009” means European Communities (Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy Services) Regulations 2009 ( S.I. No. 542 of 2009 ).
PART 2 Miscellaneous Amendments to Energy Acts
Chapter 1 Superannuation of transferred staff
	Amendment of Electricity Supply Board (Superannuation) Act 1942.	3.— (1) The Electricity Supply Board (Superannuation) Act 1942 is amended—
	(a) in section 1, by inserting after the definition of “manual worker” the following:
	“ ‘persons employed by the Board’, with the exceptions mentioned in this Act or in any superannuation scheme confirmed by the Minister, includes—
	(a) any person—
	(i) whose employment was transferred to EirGrid plc, under Regulation 14 of the Regulations of 2000,
	(ii) who was, immediately before the transfer a member of a superannuation scheme, and
	(iii) in respect of whom the transmission system operator has not notified the trustees under Regulation 17(10)(d) of the Regulations of 2000,
	and
	(b) any person serving in the Board on or before 1 January 2009—
	(i) whose employment was transferred to ESB Networks Ltd. under the transfer plan or otherwise, and
	(ii) who was, immediately before the transfer a member of a superannuation scheme;
	‘ESB Networks Ltd.’ means the company formed pursuant to Regulation 3 of the European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) (Electricity Supply Board) Regulations 2008 ( S.I. No. 280 of 2008 ) under the name of ESB Networks Ltd. or any company replacing it;
	‘Regulations of 2000’ means European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) Regulations 2000 ( S.I. No. 445 of 2000 );
	‘transfer plan’ means the plan prepared under Regulation 7 of the European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) (Electricity Supply Board) Regulations 2008 as approved by the Commission for Energy Regulation.”,
	(b) in section 4, by inserting after subsection (2) the following:
	“(3) A person serving in the Board on or before 1 January 2009, whose employment was transferred to ESB Networks Ltd. under the transfer plan or otherwise, who was immediately before the transfer a member of a superannuation scheme continues as a member of the scheme.
	(4) A person employed by the Board, whose employment was transferred to EirGrid plc under Regulation 14 of the Regulations of 2000, in respect of whom the transmission system operator has not notified the trustees under Regulation 17(10)(d) of the Regulations of 2000, and who was immediately before the transfer a member of a superannuation scheme, shall continue to have his or her superannuation benefits and the contributions payable in respect of their membership of a scheme established under the Regulations of 2000 paid out of or into, as the case may be, the fund set up under section 7 of this Act, into which he or she paid superannuation contributions before the transfer.”.
	(2) Paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 2 to the European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) (Electricity Supply Board) Regulations 2008 ( S.I. No. 280 of 2008 ) is revoked.
	Superannuation of transferred employees of Bord Gáis Éireann.	4.— The following section is inserted after section 16 of the Gas Act 1976 :
	“16A.— (1) In this section—
	‘Gaslink’ means Gaslink Independent System Operator Ltd., being the company formed pursuant to Regulation 5 of the European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas) (BGE) Regulations 2005 ( S.I. No. 760 of 2005 );
	‘terms and conditions’ includes a term existing under subsection (2);
	‘transfer date’ means the date fixed by the Minister under subsection (3) on which the transfer plan takes effect;
	‘transfer plan’ means the plan prepared under subsection (2)(a) and approved under subsection (2)(b);
	‘vary’, in relation to terms and conditions, includes vary by—
	(a) omitting any of those terms and conditions,
	(b) adding to those terms and conditions, or
	(c) substituting new terms and conditions for any of the first-mentioned terms and conditions.
	(2) (a) The Board shall prepare a transfer plan for the transfer of assets and staff to Gaslink specified in subsection (1).
	(b) The transfer plan shall be submitted to the Minister by the Board for his or her approval.
	(c) The employment of those officers and servants of the Board who are designated in the transfer plan is transferred to Gaslink.
	(d) An officer or servant of the Board whose employment is transferred to Gaslink and who was, immediately before the transfer, a member of a superannuation scheme established under section 18 for officers or servants of the Board, is entitled to continue to be a member of the scheme in accordance with its terms as in force from time to time.
	(e) Subject to this section, each person whose employment is transferred in accordance with paragraph (c) is employed by Gaslink on terms and conditions no less favourable to that person than those on which the person was employed by the Board immediately before the transfer date.
	(f) Nothing in this section has the effect of breaking a person’s contract of employment or continuity of employment for the purpose of applying to the person any other law relating to employment that would, apart from this section, apply to the person. In particular, this section does not affect a person’s accrued rights that the person had immediately before the transfer date in respect of any kind of leave.
	(g) It is a term of employment of each transferred employee that the terms and conditions of that employment may be varied to the extent to which, and in the manner in which, the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment could, immediately before the transfer date, be lawfully varied.
	(h) Nothing in this section prevents the terms and conditions of a transferred employee’s employment after the transfer date from being varied—
	(i) in accordance with those terms and conditions, or
	(ii) by or under an applicable law or agreement.
	(3) The Minister may fix a date on which the transfer plan takes effect.”.
Chapter 2 Theft of electricity and gas and deemed contracts
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