ENERGY REGULATION ACT

to provide for the licensing of enterprises in the energy sector; continue the existence of the Energy Regulation Board and re-define its functions; re-constitute and revise the functions of the Board; repeal and replace the Energy Regulation Act, 1995; and provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.

[21st February, 2020]

Act 12 of 2019,

SI 16 of 2020.

PART I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Energy Regulation Act.

2. Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

"activity" means a commercial activity, excluding an activity which the Minister, by statutory instrument, declares not to constitute an activity for the purposes of this Act whether public or private, for the—

(a) production, generation transmission, distribution or supply of energy;

(b) production, refining, transportation, storage, trading or supply of energy or fuel; or

(c) manufacturing, distribution or supply of equipment used for any activity mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), other than equipment—

(i) designed for ordinary household use;

(ii) of a design or type prescribed by the Minister;

(iii) designed or used for a purpose, or in circumstances, that may be prescribed;

(iv) for the export of electricity;

(v) for the import of electricity;

(vi) for the sale and trading of electricity by asset and non-asset owner; or

(vii) for transmission and distribution service provision by intermediary power trader or off-taker;

"arbitration" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Arbitration Act, 2000;

"associate" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Anti-Corruption Act, 2012;

"base cost" means the capital costs associated with conceiving, designing, planning and implementing through engineering, procurement and construction of an enterprise for which a licence is being sought, applying the best utility industry practice standards, including equipment, materials, civil works, development costs, pre-operating costs and associated imported duties and taxes;

"Board" means the Board of the Energy Regulation Board constituted under section 5;

"Chairperson" means a person appointed as Chairperson under section 5;

"charges" include prices, fees, rates, surcharges, levies, penalties, deposits, connection charges or fees, use of system charges or any other charge made for the provision of any service, commodity or product that a licensee renders in the course of carrying out its licensed activity;

"common carrier" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Electricity Act, 2019;

"Competition and Consumer Protection Commission" means the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission established under the Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2010;

"consumer" means a person to whom energy is supplied or who has applied and paid for the supply of energy;

"Director-General" means the person appointed as Director-General under section 8;

"Emoluments Commission" means the Emoluments Commission established under the Constitution;

"energy" means—

(a) a source of electrical, mechanical, thermal, nuclear or chemical power for any use, and includes electricity, petroleum, coal, other fossil fuels, geothermal, natural gas, biomass and its derivatives municipal waste, solar, wind and tidal wave power; and

(b) energy produced by any other means that the Minister may, on recommendation of the Board, prescribe by statutory instrument;

"Energy Regulation Board" means the Energy Regulation Board continued under section 3;

"enterprise" means an entity engaged in the production, generation, transmission, distribution, supply of energy, intermediary power trading, refining, transportation, storage, trading or supply of fuel or any other licensed activity under this Act;

"inspector" means a person appointed as inspector under section 23;

"legally disqualified" means having no legal capacity as provided in section 4 of the Mental Health Act, 2019;

"licence" means a licence issued by the Board under section 12;

"licensee" means a holder of a licence in relation to—

(a) petroleum, in the—

(i) pipeline transportation of crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas;

(ii) refining of petroleum products;

(iii) processing of natural gas;

(iv) terminal storage of petroleum products;

(v) wholesale marketing of petroleum products;

(vi) distribution, importation and exportation of petroleum products;

(vii) retail of petroleum products;

(viii) transportation of petroleum products; and

(ix) transportation and marketing of coal;

(b) electricity, in the—

(i) generation of electricity;

(ii) transmission of electricity;

(iii) distribution of electricity;

(iv) supply or trading of electricity; and

(v) system operation of the power system and transmission and distribution service provision;

(i) manufacture, supply, installation and maintenance of renewable energy generating equipment; and

(ii) production, storage, marketing and transportation of renewable energy; and

(d) any other activity as the Minister may prescribe by statutory instrument;

"licensed activity" means an activity authorised under a licence issued by the Board;

"permit" means a permit referred to under section 22;

"power purchase agreement" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Electricity Act, 2019;

"power supply agreement" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Electricity Act, 2019;

"prudent utility practice" means the practice, method, and act at a particular time which, in the exercise of reasonable judgment, in the light of the facts, including the practices, methods, and acts engaged in or approved by a significant portion of the electrical utility industry prior thereto, known at the time, the decision was made, would have been expected to accomplish the desired result at the lowest reasonable cost consistent with reliability, safety, and expedition;

"relative" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Anti-Corruption Act, 2012;

"renewable energy" means energy that is derived from natural sources that are replenished constantly;

"repealed Act" means the Energy Regulation Board Act, 1995;

"tariff" means the unit price relating to the production, supply and distribution of energy to any consumer;

"Vice-Chairperson" means the person elected as Vice-Chairperson under section 5;

"Zambia Bureau of Standards" means the Zambia Bureau of Standards established under the Standards Act, 2017; and

"Zambia Environmental Management Agency" means the Zambia Environmental Management Agency established under the Environmental Management Act, 2011.

PART II
THE ENERGY REGULATION BOARD

3. Continuation of Energy Regulation Board

(1) The Energy Regulation Board established under the repealed Act shall continue to exist as if established under this Act.

(2) The Energy Regulation Board is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, capable of suing and being sued in its corporate name and with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to do acts and things that a body corporate may, by law, do or perform.

(3) The First Schedule applies to the Energy Regulation Board.

4. Functions of Energy Regulation Board

The functions of the Energy Regulation Board are to—

(a) issue licences under this Act;

(b) in collaboration with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission—

(i) investigate and monitor the levels and structures of competition within the energy sector with a view of promoting competition and accessibility to a licensee or enterprise complying with the basic requirement for operating as a business in the Republic; and

(ii) develop and implement appropriate rules to promote competition in the energy sector;

(c) monitor, in collaboration with any other relevant regulatory body, the efficiency and performance of a licensee and an enterprise, having regard to the purposes for which the licensee and the enterprise were licensed or established;

(d) disseminate information and promote the participation of the public in the provision of energy services;

(e) receive, investigate and determine complaints from consumers on—

(i) tariffs and charges provided by a licensee;

(ii) quality of energy products and services provided by a licensee; or

(iii) its own initiative concerning the location or construction of an energy facility or an installation or the carrying out of any works by a licensee;

(f) approve the location and construction of a common carrier or an energy facility or installation or the carrying out of any works by a licensee or enterprise and regulate that location and construction by attaching terms and conditions to the licence or a permit held by a licensee and enterprise under this Act or any other applicable written law;

(g) stipulate conditions relating to the location, installation or construction of a common carrier, or an energy facility or an installation;

(h) in collaboration with the Zambia Bureau of Standards, design standards with regard to the quality, safety and reliability of the supply of energy;

(i) in collaboration with the Zambia Environmental Management Agency, formulate measures to minimise the environmental impact of activities carried out in the energy sector;

(j) determine, regulate and review charges and tariffs in the energy sector;

(k) approve, review and regulate power purchase agreements and power supply agreements;

(l) subject to the Compulsory Standards Act, 2017, and the Standards Act, 2017 establish performance standards and monitor the attainment of performance standards by licensees and enterprises in the energy sector;

(m) develop operating procedures, codes of practice, guidelines for incentive-based regulation and specifications;

(n) initiate, conduct and promote research surveys, studies, training and investigations in the energy sector;

(o) promote, development and the use of new and appropriate technologies in the energy sector;

(p) develop an enforcement manual to regulate non-compliance in the energy sector;

(q) make recommendations to the Minister on various issues in the energy sector;

(r) conduct any inquiry and investigation connected with any activities under this Act;

(s) make orders and enforce performance compliance as provided under this Act to the extent applicable;

(t) issue directives to licensees from time to time in relation to the licensed activity;

(u) impose an administrative penalty against a licensee for violation of licence conditions under a licence held by the licensee, or for failure to abide by the directives issued under this Act or any other relevant written law; and

This section of the article is only available for our subscribers. Please click here to subscribe to a subscription plan to view this part of the article.

{{{_source.title}}} {{#_source.showPrice}} {{{_source.displayPrice}}} {{/_source.showPrice}}