The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has launched a consultation to ensure that regulation in the energy sector encourages innovation and to get industry views on the effectiveness of current regulatory innovation.
The consultation, which runs for four weeks from 15 January, focuses on the activities of the DECC and the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), with other energy sector regulators, such as the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) undertaking parallel engagement exercises.
Stakeholders, who may only respond digitally, are asked to answer the following specific questions relating to DECC’s and the OGA’s activities:
- How can legislation and enforcement frameworks help support new technologies and business models to encourage growth?
- How is new technology likely to shape the energy sector and;
- How can regulators better utilise new technologies to generate efficiency savings and reduce burdens on business?
Once the consultation closes on 11 February, DECC and regulators will consider stakeholder responses to develop a final Innovation Plan that will be published in spring 2016. This will include an account of how DECC and regulators are working to adapt regulation and enforcement to support innovative technologies and business models.
Stakeholder feedback from this exercise will be reviewed to assess whether there are further areas to explore in order to ensure the regulatory framework remains fit for purpose in an environment of rapid technological change. Ofgem will be producing a separate Innovation Plan covering their activities in this area.
A summary of responses will be placed on the Gov.UK website. Unless a respondent opts for a confidential response, which they can do in writing when they send in their response, the summary will include a list of stakeholders that responded but will not include personal information, such as names, addresses or other contact details.