Cap. 545 Art. 2Interpretation. Cap. 156. Cap. 379. Cap. 490.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -"authorisation" includes any licence or permit however so described issued by or under this Act to operate, provide or carry out any activity or operation relating to energy and water and, in relation to services and service providers of such services, means a permit, licence, warrant, appointment, concession or decision concerning access to a service activity or any other activity the exercise of which relates to energy and water resources;

"authorisation scheme" means any authorisation or other procedure of an administrative nature, under which a provider or recipient is in effect required to take steps in order to commence the activity in question and obtain from a competent authority authorisation concerning access to a service activity or the exercise thereof; "authorised provider" means any person who has a valid authorisation to operate, provide or carry out any activity or operation or to provide any service relating to energy and water; "Board" means the Board of the Regulator appointed under article 3(2); "Chairman" means Chairman of the Regulator for Energy and Water Services and includes, in the circumstances mentioned in article 3(3), the Deputy Chairman or other person appointed to act as Chairman;

* see article 1(4) of this Act as originally enacted and Legal Notice 208 of 2016. "Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer appointed under article 6(7); "contractor" means a person acting in pursuance of an agreement entered into with the Regulator for Energy and Water Services or in accordance with article 6(5); "decision" includes any determination, measure, order, requirement or specification however so described made by the Regulator for Energy and Water Services and the word "decision" shall be construed accordingly; "directive" means a directive issued by the Regulator for Energy and Water Services in accordance with the procedures as may be prescribed by regulations made under this Act; "Directorates" means such directorates as are or may be established under article 6; "distribution" in relation to electrical energy, means the transport of electricity on the medium-voltage and low-voltage distribution systems with a view to its delivery to customers;

"distribution system operator" means a person responsible for operating, ensuring the maintenance of and, if necessary, developing the distribution system in a given area and, where applicable, its interconnections with other systems and for ensuring the long-term ability of the system to meet reasonable demands for the distribution of electricity; "electrical energy" means electrical energy when generated, transmitted, distributed, supplied or used for any purpose except the transmission of any communication or signal; "employee" means a person employed by the Regulator for Energy and Water Services; "energy" includes electrical energy, fuels, heat when transmitted as a commercial activity, and energy derived from renewable sources;

"establishment" means the actual pursuit of an economic activity as referred to in Article 43 of the Treaty, by a service provider for an indefinite period and through a stable infrastructure from where the business of providing services is actually carried out; "fuel" includes coal, all hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon derivatives normally used as fuels, including crude oil, fuels based on hydrocarbons or coal, gaseous fuel, petroleum substitutes in liquid form, liquids or gases produced from fermentation or similar processes when intended for use as fuels, fuels produced from solid waste; but does not include petroleum for the purposes of the Petroleum (Production) Act; "financial year" means any period of twelve months ending on the 31st December: Provided that the first financial year of the Regulator for Energy and Water Services shall begin on the coming into force of this Act and shall end on the 31st December of the next following year; "gas" means all hydrocarbons in gaseous form whether in their natural state or obtained from petroleum or produced chemically; "Internal Market Information System” means the information system through which competent authorities exchange information in fulfilment of their obligations under Chapter VI of Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market; "Member State” means a Member State of the European Union;

"Member State of establishment" means the Member State in whose territory the provider of the service concerned is established;

"Member State where the service is provided" means the Member State where the service is supplied by a provider established in another Member State; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for energy and water services; "overriding reasons relating to the public interest" means the reasons recognised as such in the case law of the European Court of Justice in relation to Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty, as they may continue to evolve and including the following grounds:

(a) public policy, public security, public safety and public health; provided that these grounds shall be interpreted within the meaning of Articles 46 and Article 55 of the Treaty;

(b) the maintenance of order in society;

(c) social policy objectives;

(d) the protection of the recipients of services;

(e) consumer protection;

(f) the prevention of fraud;

(g) the prevention of unfair competition;

(h) the protection of the environment; "petroleum" means all natural hydrocarbons whether liquid or gaseous including crude oil, natural gas, asphalt, ozokerite and cognate substances and natural gasoline;

"public officer" in relation to article 18, has the same meaning assigned to it by article 124 of the Constitution but does not include a judge or a magistrate; "recipient" means any natural person who is a national of a Member State or who benefits from rights conferred upon him by Community acts, or any legal person as referred to in Article 48 of the Treaty and established in a Member State, who, for professional or non-professional purposes, uses, or wishes to use, a service; "Regulator" means the Regulator for Energy and Water Services established by article 3; "resources" means the resources relating to energy and water regulated by or under this Act; "service” means any self-employed activity performed for an economic consideration as referred to in Article 50 of the Treaty;

"services of a general economic interest" means those services declared by the Minister responsible for Competition as services of general economic interest in terms of article 30(3) of the

Competition Act; "service provider" means any natural person who is a national of a Member State, or any legal person as referred to in Article 48 of the Treaty and established in a Member State, who offers or provides a service; "transmission" in relation to electrical energy, means the transport of electricity on the high-voltage interconnected system with a view to its delivery to final customers or distributors but does not include supply;

"TSO" means a natural or legal person responsible for operating, ensuring the maintenance of and, if necessary, developing the transmission system in a given area and, where applicable, its interconnections with other systems, and for ensuring the long-term ability of the system to meet reasonable demands for the transmission of electricity; "Treaty" means the Treaty establishing the European Community;

"Tribunal" means the Administrative Review Tribunal established by article 5 of the Administrative Justice Act;

"undertaking" means any person whether an individual, a body corporate or unincorporate or any other entity, pursuing an economic activity, and includes a group of undertakings; "water", when used in relation to any practice, operation or activity which is regulated by this Act, shall include drainage and sewage services, but shall not include bottled table water.