Irish Statutory Instruments

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 19th July, 2013.

The Commission for Energy Regulation, in exercise of the powers conferred on it under section 9E of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (No. 23 of 1999), as amended by the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 (No. 40 of 2006), hereby make the following regulations with respect to which, pursuant to section 9E(1) of that Act, the matters raised in the public consultation process carried out by the Commission under section 9E(1) of that Act were taken account of by the Commission, and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources having approved the draft of the regulations caused a draft of the regulations to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and a resolution approving the draft has been passed by each such House pursuant to section 9E(2) of that Act:

General

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Restricted Electrical Works) Regulations 2013.

2. These Regulations come into operation on 1 October 2013

3. In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires-

“Act” means the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (No. 23 of 1999);

“Circuit” means part of an Electrical Installation supplied from the same origin and protected against overcurrents by a single protective device;

“Commercial Premises” means any building or land or part of a building or land used for the purposes of carrying on a trade or business but does not include that part of a building or land which is a Domestic Property;

“Domestic Property” means:

(a) A dwelling house, flat or maisonette, including:

(i) any surgery, consulting room, office or other accommodation not exceeding 50m2 in total forming part of it and used in a commercial capacity;

(ii) any part of its out-buildings or curtilage used for non-commercial purposes; or

(iii) its connection to the electricity network;

Or

(b) A caravan or motor caravan intended for habitation purposes including its curtilage, used for non-commercial purposes, excluding electrical circuits and equipment for automotive purposes;

“Distribution Board” means consumer unit or fuse-board which is an assembly of protective devices, including two or more fuses or circuit breakers, arranged for the distribution of electrical energy to final circuits or to other distribution boards;

“Electrical Installation” means an assembly of electrical equipment with wiring or cable, to fulfil one or more specific purposes and having associated characteristics;

“Main Protective device” means a device at the main supply point designed to provide protection against over current by isolating the fault from the electricity supply to protect equipment and appliances from being damaged.

“National Rules for Electrical Installations” means the current issue of the rules which are prepared by the Electro Technical Council of Ireland (or other body as the case may be).

4. (1) For the purposes of these Regulations and section 9E(1) of the Act, the phrase ‘Restricted Electrical Works’ has the same meaning as and shall be construed as a reference to ‘Designated Electrical Works’.

4. (2) For the purposes of section 9E(1) of the Act ‘Designated Electrical Works’ means:

(a) the installation, commissioning, inspection or testing of a new Electrical Installation which is fixed, fastened or mounted or otherwise secured so that its position does not change and requires connection or re-connection to the distribution network or the transmission network, as the case may be;

(b) the modification, installation or replacement of a Distribution Board including customer tails on either side of the Main Protective Device or of an Electrical Installation in any of the special locations listed in Part 7 of the National Rules for Electrical Installations, as the case may be;

(c) the installation or replacement of one or more circuits in an Electrical Installation, including the installation of one or more additional protective devices for such circuits on a Distribution Board; or

(d) the inspection, testing or certification of, or reporting on, existing Electrical Installations covered by Part 6 of the National Rules for Electrical Installations;

in a Domestic Property.

4. (3) For the purposes of section 9E(1) of the Act, ‘Designated Electrical Works’ does not include:

(a) Electrical works in potentially explosive atmospheres;

(b) Electrical works in a Commercial Premises setting including MV and HV connection and installations;

(c) Electrical works on a construction site;

(d) Electrical works within exhibitions, shows and stands;

(e) Electrical works on agricultural and horticultural installations;

(f) Electrical works on public lighting and associated cabling;

(g) Minor electrical works including the replacement of an electrical accessory such as a light switch, the replacement or relocation of a light fitting where the existing circuit is retained, the provision of an additional socket to an existing radial circuit, or electrical works which do not require the issuance of a completion certificate under section 9D of the Act.

GIVEN under the common seal of the Commission for Energy Regulation

18 July 2013.

DERMOT NOLAN,

Member of Commission.

SHEENAGH ROONEY,

Member of Staff of the Commission.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

(This note is not a part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

The Commission for Energy Regulation, in exercise of the powers conferred on it under section 9E of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (No. 23 of 1999), as amended by the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 (No. 40 of 2006), having taken into account the matters raised in the public consultation process carried out by the Commission under section 9E(1) of that Act, and with the consent of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, designates a class of works to be Designated Electrical Works for the purposes of section 9E(1) of that Act. For the purposes of these Regulations and section 9E(1) of the Act, the phrase ‘Restricted Electrical Works’ has the same meaning as and shall be construed as a reference to ‘Designated Electrical Works’.