Sector
Energy & Utilities
Oil, gas, renewables, electricity, water and utility services.
Start here
Get your heat network authorised with Ofgem
Operate or supply a heat network — including communal heating? Ofgem now regulates you
Set up an energy business
Licensing and market entry for a new energy business
Obtaining an environmental permit for regulated activities
If your activities need an environmental permit
Responding to environmental enforcement
Facing environmental enforcement? Start here
Who regulates you
See all 33Environment Agency (opens in a new tab)
Environmental protection in England. Regulates waste, emissions, water quality, flood risk, and environmental permits for industrial activities. Enforces environmental law and issues permits for …
Enforces 20 Acts this sector relies on.
Ofgem (opens in a new tab)
Regulates gas and electricity markets in Great Britain. Issues licences for generation, transmission, distribution, and supply. Protects consumers and promotes competition. Also administers renewable …
Enforces 16 Acts this sector relies on.
HSE (opens in a new tab)
Workplace health, safety, and welfare regulation across all industries. Enforces the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and related regulations. Investigates serious incidents …
Enforces 15 Acts this sector relies on.
NRW (opens in a new tab)
Principal environmental regulator for Wales. Combines functions of Environment Agency Wales, Countryside Council for Wales, and Forestry Commission Wales. Issues environmental permits, manages natural …
Enforces 10 Acts this sector relies on.
DEFRA (opens in a new tab)
Government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries, and rural communities. Sets environmental policy and works with agencies (EA, NE) …
Enforces 9 Acts this sector relies on.
NSTA (opens in a new tab)
Licenses and regulates the UK oil and gas, offshore hydrogen, and carbon storage industries. Issues petroleum production licences and CO2 storage licences. Formerly the …
Enforces 9 Acts this sector relies on.
Key legislation
See all 69What’s changing
Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage (Financing of Costs of Offshore Decommissioning) Regulations 2026
General rules
Common requirements that apply across industries. Conditions such as employing people or operating premises are shown only after they are known.
File your confirmation statement
File a confirmation statement every 12 months, within 14 days after your review period ends. Filing late is a criminal offence for the company and its officers.
Applies across industries.
General ruleVerify your identity for Companies House as a director or PSC
Yes, if you are an individual director or PSC of a UK company, or an individual director of an overseas company registered in the UK. Corporate directors and officers of corporate PSCs are not yet required to verify. The transition for existing directors and PSCs ends on 17 November 2026.
Applies across industries.
General ruleMandatory registrations every business must complete
Step-by-step guide to the registrations every business must complete before trading, regardless of sector. Covers HMRC tax registration, ICO data protection fee, mandatory insurance, and pension auto-enrolment.
Applies across industries.
General rulePre-trading compliance checklist
A concise yes/no checklist to verify you have completed all mandatory pre-trading requirements, including business registration, tax, insurance, licences, premises approvals, and data protection.
Applies across industries.
General ruleMeet your business waste duty of care
Understand your legal responsibilities when producing, storing, or disposing of business waste. Covers using registered waste carriers, completing waste transfer notes, and the stricter rules for hazardous waste.
Applies across industries.
General ruleCheck if you need to register for VAT
Find out if your business must register for VAT based on your taxable turnover. Covers the £90,000 threshold, what counts as taxable turnover, the rolling 12-month test, and when voluntary registration makes sense.
Applies across industries.
All guidance for energy & utilities
Compliance & Legal
8
Understanding UREGNI: utility regulation in Northern Ireland
How utility regulation works in Northern Ireland, where UREGNI (the Utility Regulator) oversees electricity, gas, and water as a single combined regulator. Covers why NI energy regulation is fundamentally different from Great Britain, the all-island Single Electricity Market shared with the Republic of Ireland, NI Water as a government-owned company, and what this means for businesses operating in or entering the NI energy market.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Reservoir registration and safety inspections
How to register large raised reservoirs, appoint panel engineers, comply with inspection requirements, and meet safety obligations under the Reservoirs Act 1975 and devolved legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Apply for an electricity or gas licence in Northern Ireland
Step-by-step guide to applying to UREGNI for an electricity or gas licence in Northern Ireland. Covers the different licence types for electricity (generation, transmission, distribution, supply) and gas (supply, conveyance, storage), what UREGNI requires from applicants, the application process and timescales, and the criminal offence of operating without a licence.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Run a compliant energy business
Whatever energy business you run — generation, networks, gas, supply or heat — the same core duties apply. Health and safety carries unusual weight in this sector because of major-hazard risk, you must insure your employees, activities with emissions need an environmental permit from the right national regulator, large combustion installations are in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, and sites holding dangerous substances above threshold quantities have COMAH major-accident duties.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Meet your water industry regulatory duties
A water supply business in the UK must hold an appointment or licence as a water undertaker, meet drinking water quality standards, comply with the water fittings regulations, register and inspect any large raised reservoir, hold an abstraction licence for raw-water collection and hold environmental permits for discharges. This guide takes you through each regulatory duty in turn.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Set up and run a safe water supply operation
Every water collection, treatment and supply business must protect its workers and others affected by the work. This guide covers the workplace health and safety, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection duties that apply before you get into the sector-specific water industry regulatory requirements.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Run a heat network or steam supply business
Heat networks — district heating and cooling — are moving into formal regulation: the Energy Act 2023 makes Ofgem the regulator and brings in operator authorisation and consumer protection, phased in from 2024. Alongside that sit the plant-level duties: steam boilers and pressure systems need a written scheme of examination, air-conditioning plant containing F-gases needs certified handling, heat and steam plant in buildings must meet Building Regulations energy standards, CHP operators can certify under CHPQA for Climate Change Levy relief, and large undertakings must run ESOS energy audits every four years.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Gas network and gas safety rules
Conveying gas through pipes to premises needs an Ofgem gas transporter licence and an HSE-accepted safety case before you start — and gas manufacturing processes connected to a network, such as biomethane production, need their own safety case. High-pressure pipelines carry major-accident duties under the Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996, networks with more than one transporter need a Network Emergency Co-ordinator, and licensed transporters sit under the RIIO-GD price control. The Gas Act 1986 does not extend to Northern Ireland.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Show 9 more
Comply as an energy supplier
Selling electricity or gas to customers over the public networks is a licensed activity with heavyweight ongoing obligations. Beyond getting the Ofgem supply licence, you must join the industry codes — the Balancing and Settlement Code for electricity, the Uniform Network Code for gas — keep domestic tariffs within the quarterly price cap, meet Ofgem's standards of conduct, and meet the renewable-scheme obligations: the Renewables Obligation, the Contracts for Difference levy and, for larger suppliers, the mandatory Smart Export Guarantee. Ofgem can fine suppliers up to 10% of turnover for licence-condition breaches.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Energy compliance checklist
A confirmation checklist for energy businesses. Work through the cross-cutting duties every energy business shares, then the section for what you operate — electricity generation, electricity networks, gas networks and gas manufacture, energy supply, or heat, steam and air conditioning.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Water supply: compliance checklist
Use this checklist to confirm your water collection, treatment and supply business meets its obligations. Work through the workplace items every business shares, then the water industry regulatory duties. If you answer no to any item that applies to you, follow the linked guide before you proceed.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Run an electricity network business
Electricity transmission and distribution are licensed monopoly activities in Great Britain. Transmission operators need an Ofgem transmission licence and must comply with the Grid Code and CUSC under the RIIO-T price control. Distribution network operators need a distribution licence, sit under the RIIO-ED price control and must meet Ofgem's guaranteed standards of performance. Businesses that build and adopt new connection assets follow the ICP accreditation or IDNO licence route. In Northern Ireland the networks are regulated by UREGNI.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Which energy rules apply to your business
Energy businesses — electricity generators, network operators, gas transporters and manufacturers, energy suppliers and heat network operators — share one defining feature: most activities need an Ofgem licence or authorisation before you can operate, and operating without one can be a criminal offence. Beyond licensing, what you must do depends on what you operate. Work out which you are and follow the right guide — and if you operate in Northern Ireland, the Utility Regulator (UREGNI) licenses you separately.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Which water supply rules apply to you
If you collect, treat or supply water you must meet workplace safety duties, hold an appointment or licence as a water undertaker, comply with drinking water quality standards and hold the environmental permits your operations need. Use this page to find which guides apply to your business.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Get an electricity generation licence
How to determine if you need an electricity generation licence from Ofgem (GB) or the Utility Regulator (NI). Covers licensing thresholds, exemptions, environmental permits, grid connections, and COMAH compliance for larger energy facilities.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
COMAH Compliance for Chemical Sites
Meet COMAH requirements for sites holding dangerous substances.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Get authorisation for a water activity in Scotland (EASR)
How to get authorisation for any activity affecting surface water or groundwater in Scotland — abstraction, impoundment, engineering in or near a water body, and discharges. Since 1 November 2025 water activities are authorised under the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (EASR), which replaced the Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR 2011) framework. Covers the four-tier authorisation system (General Binding Rules, notification, registration, permit), pre-application advice, fees, and enforcement, all administered by SEPA.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Environment & Sustainability
6
Environmental Permit - Medium Combustion Plant
Medium combustion plant (MCP) with thermal input between 1MW and 50MW require an environmental permit from the Environment Agency.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Environmental Permit - Part A(1) Installation
Large combustion plant (50MW thermal input and above) and other major industrial installations require a Part A(1) environmental permit.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Water abstraction licences and drinking water quality in Northern Ireland: NIEA and DWI
How water is regulated in Northern Ireland for two different kinds of business: a mill or other user that takes water from a river, lough or borehole and needs an abstraction and impoundment licence from NIEA, and a water undertaker that supplies drinking water and must meet the 2017 Water Quality Regulations enforced by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Control and monitor air emissions
How to comply with air emissions permit conditions for Part A and Part B regulated activities. Covers the difference between Environment Agency and local authority regulation, emission limits, MCERTS monitoring, stack testing, abatement equipment, and reporting requirements.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) compliance
Complete guide to UK ETS obligations for installations, aviation operators, and maritime operators. Covers registration thresholds, annual reporting deadlines, verification requirements, allowance surrender, and penalties.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Apply for a water abstraction licence
How to apply for a licence to abstract water from rivers, streams, boreholes, or other sources. Covers the 20 cubic metres per day threshold, licence types, pre-application enquiries, Environmental Impact Assessment, annual charges, and devolved nation requirements.
Applies if you take water from a river, borehole, spring or well rather than the mains
Growth & Strategy
5
Hydrogen Production Licensing and Compliance
Licensing, safety, and environmental requirements for hydrogen production facilities in the UK. Includes Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard certification, environmental permits, planning consent, COMAH compliance, and government funding through the Hydrogen Production Business Model.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Crown Estate Offshore Wind Seabed Leasing
Securing seabed rights is the critical first step for offshore wind projects in UK waters. The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland manage competitive leasing rounds with option fees, operational rent, and up to 60-year lease terms.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Offshore Wind Development Consent Orders (DCO)
Offshore wind projects over 100MW in English territorial waters require a Development Consent Order from the Secretary of State. Understand the specific thresholds, fees, timelines and 7-stage process for offshore wind NSIPs.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Grid Connection for Energy Projects
How to connect electricity generation projects to the UK grid. Understand the difference between DNO and National Grid routes, the G99 connection standard, and the April 2025 Ofgem reforms that promise £5 billion in savings and faster connection timelines.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Comply with UK Emissions Trading Scheme
How to meet your annual UK ETS compliance obligations if you operate a regulated installation, run aviation operations, or will be covered by maritime expansion from 2026. Covers the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) cycle, surrendering allowances, and penalties for non-compliance.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Sector-Specific
8
Contracts for Difference (CfD)
The main government support mechanism for new low-carbon electricity generation. CfDs provide long-term price stability for renewable generators through competitive allocation rounds.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Development Consent Order (DCO)
Offshore wind farms exceeding 100MW and other Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) require a Development Consent Order from the Secretary of State.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Get paid for renewable electricity you generate
How to register for the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) to receive payment for renewable electricity you export to the grid. Covers solar PV, wind, and other small-scale renewables up to 5MW.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Grid Connection Agreement
All electricity generators connecting to the GB electricity network require a connection agreement with either NESO (National Energy System Operator) (transmission) or a Distribution Network Operator (DNO).
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Marine Licence
Activities in the marine environment (below Mean High Water Springs) require a Marine Licence from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) in England.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Develop offshore wind projects and secure seabed leases
How to develop offshore wind projects in UK waters, from securing seabed rights through Crown Estate leasing rounds to obtaining Section 36 consent, safety zones, and grid connections. Covers England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland with differences in consenting regimes and landlords.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Crown Estate Seabed Lease
All offshore wind developments in English and Welsh waters require a seabed lease from The Crown Estate.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Electricity Supply Licence
Businesses supplying electricity to consumers in Great Britain require a Supply Licence from Ofgem.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
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Gas supply and shipper licensing
How to obtain a gas supply, shipper, transporter, or interconnector licence from Ofgem. Covers licence types, exemptions, application process, fees, standard conditions, HSE safety case requirements, and penalties for non-compliance. Applies to Great Britain only.
Relevant to a specific activity in this sector.
Working in the civil nuclear industry
Regulatory compliance requirements for businesses operating in the civil nuclear industry including site licensing, security vetting, liability insurance, and decommissioning obligations under Office for Nuclear Regulation oversight.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Understand deep land rights and petroleum licensing for onshore energy
How deep level land access rights work for petroleum and geothermal exploration. Covers the 300m depth threshold, PEDL licensing, hydraulic fracturing consent requirements, and the 11 statutory safeguards. Includes differences between England/Wales and Scotland.
Relevant across several parts of this sector.
Reinstatement standards for highway works
Reinstatement categories, guarantee periods, materials specifications, inspection regime, and defect correction requirements under the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways (SROH). Covers road categories, compaction standards, coring powers, and penalties for non-compliance.
Applies if you dig up, break open or work in the public road or footway
Subsectors
SIC 2007 divisions covered by this sector.