UK Offence Report

SCHEDULE 1

SCHEDULE 1 of Electricity Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

Damage to Electrical Plant, etc. 6

1 A person who intentionally or by culpable negligence damages or allows to be damaged—

a any electric line or electrical plant provided by an electricity distributor; or

b any electricity meter provided by an electricity supplier, shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

3 on the standard scale.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
selling or supplying something the instrument restricts
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally; qualified by absence of consent (an element).

What would breach SCHEDULE 1?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Selling the goods under the Electricity Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 where the instrument prohibits the sale outright.
  2. Supplying without carrying out a check the instrument requires first, even where the sale would otherwise be lawful.
  3. Offering for sale counts as well as selling: displaying stock is enough where the provision reaches an offer.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

in Northern Ireland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (Fines and Penalties (NI) Order 1984 art.5(3)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
3 July 2007
In force from
Not determined
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations.) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations inter alia amend the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (“the 1992 Order”) to ensure that it conforms with the requirements of Directive 2003/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity (“the Directive”). The 1992 Order provides for there to be a single holder of a supply licence Public Electricity Supplier (“PES”) for any given area. The PES is required to supply electricity to customers in that area on request and to recover charges for such a supply under a tariff and thereby act as supplier of last resort. Such customers are known as tariff customers. Any other supplier may only be licensed on more limited terms and there is not legislative provision enabling them to act as supplier of last resort. Such suppliers are known as second tier suppliers. Under the Directive, customers in Northern Ireland must be free to purchase electricity from the supplier of their choice. Moreover, all household customers must enjoy a universal service. And for that purpose the Directive allows for the appointment of a Supplier of Last Resort on the basis of a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory process and criteria. Accordingly, Part II of these Regulations abolishes the separate categories of PES and private electricity supplier (regulations 4 and 6) and replaces these with a single licence category of electricity supplier. It also replaces the current arrangements for a Supplier of Last Resort, as provided for in the duty of the PES to supply electricity under Article 19 to 26 of the 1992 Order, with new arrangements for the provision of a universal service which complies with the requirements of the Directive (regulation 9). This includes provision for any holder of a supply licence to act as Supplier of Last Resort if it so chose. The Directive also requires the legal and functional separation of distribution system activities from those of supply and generation. Part III of the regulations facilitates the restructuring of those PES licence holders whose corporate structure is incompatible with this restriction. It does so by providing for a property arrangement scheme and a complementary licensing scheme. The latter enables current PES licences to have effect as if it were a supply licence under the new provisions granted to an associate nominated by the former PES (regulation 35 to 38). The former enables the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation, on application by the holder of both a PES licence and a licence to participate in transmission (the nominating licensee), to transfer to the holder of the new supply licence of any property, rights and liabilities held by the nominating licensee or the creation of rights or liabilities in favour of such a new licence holder (regulations 12 to 34). Consequential upon the abolition of the separate categories of suppliers and the restructuring of former PESs into separate supply and distribution businesses, Part II and Schedule 2 also make changes to other provisions of the 1992 Order. In particular- a New Article 12 establishes a code which sets out the general duties of electricity distributors and transmission licence holders in place of a code for the PES (regulation 7). b New Article 27 and Schedule 1 provides for a code in relation to the distribution and supply of electricity generally and not just supply by the PES (regulation 5). c New Article 42 enables regulations to govern the standards of performance of all electricity suppliers and distributors in individual cases (regulation 10). d New Article 42A provides for the resolution of disputes in such cases (regulation 10). e New Articles 43, 43A and 43B provide for the determination of overall standards of performance for all electricity suppliers and distributors (regulation 10). Part IV contains transitional provisions. In particular it provides for the conversion of former tariff customers supplied by the PES to customers supplied under contract by the holder of a supply licence. It also provides for the conversion of supply licences authorising supply of electricity within an authorised area or to specified premises to general supply licences (regulation 41). Current rights and obligations relating to PES are changed so as to apply, as appropriate, to electricity suppliers and distributors (regulations 42 to 58). The Department is given a general power to further modify licence conditions imposed under the 1992 Order where it is necessary or expedient to comply with the requirements of the Directive. Finally provision is made so that the enforcement regime under Part VI of the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 applies to the rights and obligations created or imposed under these Regulations (regulations 59, 61 and Schedule 3).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.72 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source