Commentary on Sections Part 4: Miscellaneous and Supplemental Section 188: Imposition of charges
465.Section 188 enables a consistent and transparent charging regime to be put in place that covers a range of energy services that the Secretary of State currently provides. These relate to the exploration, production and transmission of oil and gas; the generation, transmission and distribution or supply of electricity; renewable energy zones and renewable energy installations; and the protection of the environment from these activities. Existing legislation already provides a power for charges to be levied on certain services, such as the approval of decommissioning plans. Regulations which arise from these new powers will allow charges to be levied for individual services where full recovery of the direct costs of providing that specific service will be applied.