Debate contribution: Utility Regulator (Support for Decarbonisation Preparation) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Ms Diana Armstrong on 28 April 2026.

MLA

Ms Diana Armstrong

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

28 April 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Utility Regulator (Support for Decarbonisation Preparation) Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5509789

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I will be brief. I support the Bill's passage at Second Stage and welcome the move towards decarbonisation to meet our statutory obligations. There is no doubt that decarbonisation is urgent and necessary. The Department for the Economy carries significant statutory responsibility under the Climate Change Act, so I acknowledge the intent behind the Bill. However, while I recognise the motivation, I have concerns about how the Bill proposes to proceed. It is a narrowly drafted Bill, containing a single substantive clause, yet it represents a significant shift in the role of the Utility Regulator. The Bill formally extends the regulator's functions to include providing decarbonisation-related advice, information and assistance to the Department for the Economy at the Department's request. Others have spoken of their concerns about the conditions expressed in the proposed legislation. My concern is not about the expertise. There is no question that the Utility Regulator holds deep, technical knowledge of the energy system, as acknowledged in the Minister's foreword. However, with governance accountability and institutional boundaries, I ask the Minister whether we can expect the regulator to now offer advice to other Departments, such as the Department for Communities on poverty issues, or DAERA, as referenced by others. The Utility Regulator is and should remain an independent economic regulator. Its core purpose is to protect consumers, ensure value for money and regulate monopoly networks. Drawing it directly in with the preparation of decarbonisation policy risks blurring the lines between independent regulation and Executive policy development. Indeed, the Assembly's Research and Information Service highlights that some consultation respondents raised exactly that point, and it risks pulling the regulator into territory that properly belongs to Ministers and the Department. There are also unresolved questions about how that qualified power would operate in practice. The regulator must comply with departmental requests as far as reasonably practical, but the Bill does not set out what happens if advice conflicts with the departmental policy direction or if the regulator considers a request inappropriate. That ambiguity is not insignificant. We must also consider duplication and overlap. The Climate Change Act provides for a just transition commission. The Consumer Council already has a statutory advisory role on energy impact for consumers. The Bill does not clearly explain how potentially conflicting advice would be managed or how those bodies would interact in a joined-up way. I am particularly concerned about the incremental approach being taken. The Department has been clear that the Bill is only a first step, with further legislation, offshore renewables, hydrogen smart metering and licensing to come, though not in this mandate. We are clearly coming to a point where an energy Bill encompassing policy and interconnectors, offshore renewables, hydrogen and battery storage, as well as others, along with enhanced consumer protection measures such as those that exist in Great Britain, should be in place. That is precisely the problem. Decarbonisation is transformational. It requires a coherent, transparent and accountable energy Bill, setting out governance arrangements, advisory structures and regulatory roles, not piecemeal extensions of powers through narrow stopgap legislation. There is also the public purse issue. While the explanatory and financial memorandum suggests that costs may be recovered through licence fees, it is clear that alternative funding mechanisms could be required. Ultimately, that raises questions around consumer bills and departmental budgets, issues that deserve full Assembly scrutiny within comprehensive energy legislation. Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, I know that we are short on time, but it is for those reasons that I urge caution at Second Stage. I call on the Minister to reconsider whether the approach strengthens or complicates energy governance in Northern Ireland.

610 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:27 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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