UK energy bill passes third reading in Lords

UK energy bill passes third reading in Lords, sent to Commons

London (Platts)--21Apr2004


The UK energy bill Tuesday passed its third reading in the House of Lords and
has now been sent to the House of Commons for consideration, according to
debate records. Key features of the bill include setting up a nuclear
decommissioning agency, setting up a legal framework for offshore wind farms,
and regulatory matters, such as the process for appealing against regulator
Ofgem's decisions. Some Lords have complained the bill doesn't really sort out
the UK's energy problems, as it doesn't answer the question of how the UK will
get enough energy to keep the lights on, but rather is concerned with more
technical matters. But the government argues that the actual business of
buying and selling power is better left to the market, where progress on
ensuring security of supply has included a set of new liquefied natural gas
import terminals under development. Nevertheless one amendment passed in the
Lords means the government is now explicitly responsible for power failures.