Commentary on provisions of Act Reducing the price of electricity Section 16: Temporary requirement on electricity generators to make payments
Subsections (1) and (2) enable the Secretary of State to make regulations which impose a requirement on specified electricity generators (or classes of such generators) to make periodic payments to a payment administrator. The purpose of this power is to obtain funds from certain electricity generators so that:
those funds can be paid to electricity suppliers in connection with reducing the costs of electricity to customers; or
to meet expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the Secretary of State in reducing the cost of electricity to customers (under other schemes outlined in these Notes).
	Subsection (3) sets out a non-exhaustive list of matters which may be included in regulations made under subsection (1). Those matters are:
A method for calculating the payments. Subsection (4) sets out that payments must be calculated by reference to the quantity of electricity generated during the specified period by the relevant generating station with which the relevant electricity generator is concerned;
The time at which payments should be made;
A requirement for advance payment in respect of the liability to make periodic payments and about the balancing payments;
The application of interest on late payments and penalties for late payments;
The recovery by the payment administrator of payments, interest or penalties as a civil debt;
The transfer of payments received by the payment administrator either to suppliers or into the Consolidated Fund;
Requirements imposed on suppliers receiving payments from a payment administrator as to how and when customers should receive the benefit from suppliers;
The retaining by the payment administrator of amounts received for the purpose of meeting expenditure incurred by the payment administrator in exercising functions under the regulations;
Conferring functions in connection with the application, monitoring or enforcement of the regulations on the Secretary of State, a payment administrator, GEMA, the Northern Ireland Regulator or any other person;
Conferring functions in connection with the application, monitoring or enforcement of the regulations on a person designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with the regulations;
Conferring powers on any person to require information for the purpose of exercising their functions under the regulations;
The calculation or determination of anything in accordance with the regulations;
Provision in regulations for an appeal to be made against any calculation, determination, designation or other decision made under the regulations; and
Dealing with the consequences of, or prohibiting or otherwise regulating, transactions or arrangements that undermine the effectiveness of the regulations.
	Subsection (5) allows the Secretary of State to set out when an electricity generator is no longer required to make payments in relation to these regulations.
	Subsection (6) sets out that these regulations may, as applicable, be enforceable by GEMA and the Northern Ireland Regulator, as if they were relevant requirements on a regulated person for purposes of section 25 of the Electricity Act 1989 and section 41A of the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, respectively.
	Subsection (7) states that the first set of regulations made under these powers is subject to the affirmative procedure.
	Subsection (8) states that any subsequent regulations are then subject to the negative procedure.
	Subsection (9) states that Schedule 6 contains provisions regarding the time limits on the exercise of these powers.
	Subsection (10) states the definitions of various terms used in this section.