This note is not part of the amendment but is intended to indicate its general effect.

This amendment to the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 (“Code”) comes into force on 31 August 2023 and expires on the date that is 9 months after the date on which it comes into force.

The amendment amends Part 1 and Part 6A of the Code to introduce a new dispensation scheme in relation to Part 6A of the Code. The amendment enables the Authority to grant a dispensation in respect of a specified person from the obligation to comply with Part 6A of the Code in appropriate cases and subject to any conditions the Authority considers reasonably necessary.

Pursuant to section 40 of the Electricity Industry Act 2010 (“Act”), the Authority considers that it is necessary or desirable in the public interest that the amendment be made urgently because:

(i) The amendment would address an area of immediate uncertainty that has been identified following the Electricity Industry Amendment Act 2022 (“Amendment Act”) being passed which moved certain provisions from Part 3 of the Act to Part 6A of the Code and provided for those parts of the Code to apply to specified persons.

(ii) The amendment would restore specified persons to the position they were in prior to the Amendment Act being passed when they could have sought an exemption from Part 3 of the Act under section 90 of the Act.

(iii) The amendment would ensure a specified person can be treated in the same way as a person in a similar position who had earlier obtained an exemption under section 90 of the Act, as these existing exemptions continue to apply.

(iv) There is a reasonable possibility that a specified person otherwise covered by Part 6A will soon approach the Authority seeking a form of exclusion from the application of that Part in respect of them.

(v) The amendment will enable the Authority to properly administer Part 6A of the Code without undue delay, providing certainty to those affected, and where the Authority will soon consult on a proposal to make this amendment a permanent Code amendment, pursuant to section 39 of the Act.