Regulatory Policy Committee
This opinion covers the impact assessment (IA) for The Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) (Amendment) Order 2024, laid before Parliament on 26 July.
The order amends the Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) Order 2001 to exempt high-voltage array systems from the transmission licence regime. The proposal is deregulatory (and permissive) in nature and benefits all businesses, including small businesses.
The IA monetises correctly the direct impacts on business, reporting lifetime cost savings for offshore wind farms, minus a small familiarisation cost. This is estimated to produce a net benefit for businesses of nearly 24 million per year (net present value 600 million over a 51-year appraisal period), assessed against a clear counterfactual. The IA justifies its use of data and the extended appraisal period.