UK Act of Parliament 2008 United Kingdom

Energy Act 2008

View on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab) Ask Guv about this Act

At a glance

What's here

25 compliance obligations, 4 practical guides · 2 journeys · 42 statutory instruments

Penalty landscape

12 of 25 obligations carry up to 2 years imprisonment. 4 carry different penalties and 9 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 16
  • Licence Holder 1
  • Director or Officer 1

Plus 7 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Mentioned in related content

4 guides

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Licence Holders also bound by 50 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Directors and Officers also bound by 224 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1 — Gas Importation and Storage

s.029

Requirement for public register

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must maintain a public register of energy licences Crown / Minister / Government department
s.034

Cooperation with economic regulator

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Licensing authorities must assist and inform carbon storage regulators Local authority
Browse 35 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.003

Exception for unloading to an installation in certain circumstances

s.029

OGA’s power to require information about change in control of licence holder

s.030

Change of use relief for certain installations

s.030

Change of use relief: carbon storage network pipelines

s.030

Relief under sections 30A and 30B: supplementary

s.034

Information sharing with economic regulator

Part 2 — Electricity from renewable sources

Browse 8 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 3 — Decommissioning of energy installations

s.045

Costs incurred in considering proposed programmes

  • Pay fees for the review of your decommissioning proposal Any Person
s.051

Time when modification takes effect

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must specify when decommissioning changes take effect Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 25 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.067

Meaning of “associated”: supplementary

Part 4 — Provisions relating to oil and gas

Browse 5 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 4A — Works detrimental to navigation

s.082

Determination of applications for consent under section 82A

Unlimited fine
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must determine navigation consent applications Crown / Minister / Government department
s.082

Offences relating to consents

2 years imprisonment
  • Make false statements or omit information to obtain consent Any Person
Browse 16 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.082

Restriction of works detrimental to navigation

s.082

Applications for consent under section 82A

s.082

Authorised exploration or exploitation operations: consent conditions

s.082

Secretary of State's power of direction

s.082

Damage to, or changes in, the works: emergency safety notices

s.082

Emergency safety notices: supplementary provisions

s.082

Failure to comply with condition: immediate action notice

s.082

Carrying out operation without consent etc

s.082

Failure to comply with direction under section 82E

s.082

Failure to comply with notice under section 82F or 82H

s.082

Injunctions restraining breaches of section 82A(1)

s.082

Inspectors

s.082

Criminal proceedings

s.082

Fees

s.082

Power to extend the application of this Part

s.082

Interpretation of this Part

Part 5 — Miscellaneous

s.085

Section 84: procedure

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must consult and publish energy licence modifications Crown / Minister / Government department
s.091

Regulations under section 91A(1): further provision

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Ofgem must follow strict tender and conflict-of-interest rules for smart meters Statutory regulator
s.091

Power under section 91C: procedure

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Ofgem must consult and notify before modifying energy licences Statutory regulator
Browse 19 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.091

Grant of smart meter communication licences

s.091

Power of Gas and Electricity Markets Authority to amend licence conditions etc

Part 6 — General

Browse 4 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Schedules

Browse 5 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

Ofgem

Primary

Office of Gas and Electricity Markets

Regulates gas and electricity markets in Great Britain. Issues licences for generation, transmission, distribution, and supply. Protects consumers and promotes competition. Also …

NSTA

North Sea Transition Authority

Licenses and regulates the UK oil and gas, offshore hydrogen, and carbon storage industries. Issues petroleum production licences and CO2 storage licences. …

The Crown Estate

Manages Crown land and seabed around England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Grants leases for offshore wind farms, tidal, and wave energy projects. …

Crown Estate Scotland

Manages Crown land and seabed in Scottish waters. Grants leases for offshore wind farms under ScotWind and INTOG leasing rounds. Separate from …

OPRED

Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning

Regulates environmental aspects of offshore oil and gas, carbon storage, and gas unloading/storage. Issues environmental permits, approves oil spill response plans, and …

Connected legislation

42 statutory instruments

These instruments amend, apply, or refer to this Act. They may not all create direct business obligations.

Secondary legislation (42)

+ 27 more statutory instruments

Explore more

Browse legislation

Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.

Regulators

Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.