Call for evidence outcome

Exemptions from the requirement for an electricity licence: call for evidence

From:: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Published: 30 October 2020
Last updated: 24 July 2023 — See all updates

Read the full outcome

Electricity licence exemptions call for evidence: summary of responses

PDF, 356 KB, 27 pages

Detail of outcome

This call for evidence on electricity licence exemptions asked a range of questions with the objective of:

increasing government’s knowledge of the exempt sector
providing a better understanding of what changes might be required to align the exemptions regime with current and future market features and broader policy goals

The response to the call for evidence, and from a series of associated stakeholder engagement roundtables and workshops, provided a picture of the issues concerning the exempt sector most pressing to market participants and others.

We will take into consideration all views and concerns when developing possible options for the future.

We received 77 responses to this call for evidence from a wide range of stakeholders, including:

energy companies (generators, distributors and suppliers)
companies
trade associations
local authorities
non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

Please email any queries to exemptions@beis.gov.uk.

Original call for evidence

Call for evidence description

Extension to consultation end date

In light of the pandemic, we have extended the consultation period to 8 March 2021 to give people more time to respond.

The exemptions regime includes the legislation, powers and policy for granting exemptions from the requirement for a licence for the generation, distribution and supply of electricity.

The current regime has been in place since the Electricity Act 1989, which was followed by the Class (Exemption from the requirement for a licence) Order 2001, last amended in 2007. Since then, Great Britain’s energy landscape has changed substantially, for example through the growth of distributed generation and renewables.

This call for evidence is to find out how well the exemption regime has coped with these changes and how exemptions are currently being used in practice. It will inform a future consultation on changes to the regime, as part of a wider review.

The call is open to all, but we would like to hear in particular from anyone with an interest in the exemptions regime, including:

those benefitting from an exemption from the requirement for an electricity licence
those wishing to benefit from an exemption but unable to do so due to the requirements of exemptions legislation and/or policy
licensed stakeholders, consumers and trade bodies

See the BEIS consultation privacy notice.

Please do not send responses by post to the department at the moment as we may not be able to access them.

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