UK energy bill get royal assent

London (Platts)--22Jul2004

The UK energy bill is now law, having received royal assent Thursday,
according to a House of Commons spokesman. The House of Commons had finished
approving the latest amendments to the bill earlier this week, just in time to
get everything wrapped up before members of parliament depart for their summer
vacations at the end of this week. The energy bill establishes a new public
body--the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency--to clear up old nuclear sites. It
sets up a legal framework to support offshore wind farm developments. It
reforms the UK power market to introduce a single wholesale electricity market
for the whole of Great Britain, known as BETTA. And it sets out details such
as how to implement a gas and power interconnector licensing regime and how to
deal with energy companies that go bankrupt, as well as providing details on
appeals against regulatory decisions. These features were in the bill from the
start. There were big debates over possible additions in parliament.

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