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Consultation Paper Annex A
Fees payable by applicants for consent under The
Electricity (Applications for Consent) Scotland Regulations
1990
Consultation Document
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to seek views on firstly,
whether the range of fees associated with applications for
consent to build, operate or extend power stations under
section 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 should be
adjusted with a view to ensuring that they cover the associated
costs of the application and secondly, that part of the fee is
used to meet the costs of the planning authority. The
Electricity Act 1989 specifies that the consent of Scottish
Ministers is required for the construction, operation and
extension of power stations with an installed capacity in
excess of 50 Mega Watts (MW), or in the case of hydro and
marine developments 1 MW and for most overhead power lines.
Power station developments that fall below these thresholds are
considered under the land use planning system.
Why adjust the fees?
The Electricity (Applications for Consent) Scotland
Regulations 1990 established a range of fees to be paid by
applicants under section 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act.
These fees, once they are paid by the applicant to the
Executive, are required to be paid into the Scottish
Consolidated Fund. Some planning authorities have requested
that fees for planning consents under these regulations should
be regularly reassessed. As consent applications below the
relevant Electricity Act thresholds are made directly to the
planning authorities under the planning legislation, the costs
incurred by them in processing such applications can be
recovered from application fees. However, planning authorities
receive no part of the fee for applications above the relevant
thresholds and some have requested that they should be
recompensed for the costs they incur in reviewing such
applications. In addition, the current level of fees attracted
by the Executive is very low compared with Local Authority fees
and in relation to the Executive's costs. The Executive accepts
this argument and considers that a scale of increased fees that
also allows cost recovery for both the Executive and the
planning authorities should greatly improve the efficiency of
the process.
What we have considered
The Executive has considered the scale of fees, with a view
to ensuring that they reasonably represent the cost to the
Executive and the planning authorities associated with the
processing of applications. In an attempt to encourage speedy
consideration of applications, the amount reimbursed to the
planning authorities would be reduced if the application is not
processed within the specified timescale. The Executive has
also considered whether arrangements enabling increased fee
income instead of going to the Scottish Consolidated Fund,
should be used to fund additional resources within the
Executive to deal with processing applications for consent. The
proposed revised scale of fees is detailed below and in the
draft Electricity (Applications for Consent) (Scotland)
(Amendment) Regulations 2005 in Annex A.
Existing and proposed arrangements
4. The table below sets out the existing fees payable under
the 1990 regulations and the proposed range which will replace
them. The proposed fee of £15,000 is commensurate with the new
fees being proposed under the Town and Country Planning (Fees
for Applications and Deemed Applications) (Scotland)
Regulations 2004. Using this figure as a baseline, the fee
totals have been increased to reflect the scale of the
application and the resulting increase in Mega
Watts/voltage.
Subject Matter of application for
consent | Current fee under the Electricity
(Applications for Consent) Regulations
1990 | Proposed fee |
Overhead line not an EIA Development (i.e.
not requiring an environmental impact
assessment) | £50 | £150 |
Overhead line which is an EIA Development
(i.e. requiring an environmental impact
assessment) with a voltage not exceeding 132
kilovolts | £50 | £2,000 |
Overhead line which is an EIA Development
(i.e. requiring an environmental impact
assessment)with a voltage exceeding 132
kilovolts but not exceeding 275 kilovolts | £50 | £15,000 |
Overhead line which is an EIA Development
(i.e. requiring an environmental impact
assessment)with a voltage exceeding 275
kilovolts but not exceeding 405 kilovolts | £50 | £25,000 |
Overhead line which is an EIA Development
(i.e. requiring an environmental impact
assessment) with a voltage exceeding 405
kilovolts | £50 | £50,000 |
Construction or construction and operation
of a generating station with a capacity not
exceeding 100 megawatts | Nuclear station: £10,000 Non-nuclear station: £5,000 | £15,000 |
Construction or construction and operation
of a generating station with a capacity
exceeding 100 megawatts but not exceeding 200
megawatts | Nuclear station: £10,000 Non-nuclear station: £5,000 | £20,000 |
Construction or construction and operation
of a generating station with a capacity
exceeding 200 megawatts but not exceeding 500
megawatts | Nuclear station £24,000: Non-nuclear station: £12,000 | £30,000 |
Construction or construction and operation
of a generating station with a capacity
exceeding 500 megawatts | Nuclear station: £40,000 Non-nuclear station: £20,000 | £50,000 |
Extension or extension and operation of a
generating station resulting in increase in
megawatt capacity not exceeding 100
megawatts | Nuclear station: £10,000 Non-nuclear station: £5,000 | £15,000 |
Extension or extension and operation of a
generating station resulting in increase in
megawatt capacity exceeding 100 megawatts but
not exceeding 199 megawatts | Nuclear station: £10,000 Non-nuclear station: £5,000 | £20,000 |
Extension or extension and operation of a
generating station resulting in increase in
megawatt capacity exceeding 200 megawatts but
not exceeding 500 megawatts | Nuclear station £24,000: Non-nuclear station: £12,000 | £30,000 |
Extension or extension and operation of a
generating station resulting in increase in
megawatt capacity exceeding 500 megawatts | Nuclear station: £40,000 Non-nuclear station: £20,000 | £50,000 |
Extension of nuclear generating station by
retrofitting of emission control equipment | £5,000 | £5,000 |
Any other extension of generating
station | £1,000 | £1,000 |
Operation only or change to manner of
operation of generating station | £1,000 | £1,000 |
Proposed Re-imbursement Arrangements
5. The Executive proposes that all overhead line
applications not requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment
and all overhead line applications requiring an EIA with a
voltage under 132 kilovolts, will have limited impact on local
authorities and accordingly no re-imbursement is proposed. For
all other categories, local authorities will be able to claim
up to £5,000 or £10,000 towards their costs of processing an
application on submitting an invoice to the Executive. Local
authorities will be able to claim up to £10,000 of their costs
if the application is processed within 4 months. Out with this
period local authorities will only be able to claim up to
£10,000 of their costs if the application is processed within 4
months. Out with this period local authorities will only be
able to claim up to £5,000. All invoices will require to be
submitted with an appropriately detailed breakdown of the costs
incurred. The average cost to the Executive for each consent
application is estimated to be £9,000 per application based on
the applications received in 2003-04. This most includes the
cost of other Executive participants e.g. solicitors and
Planning. An Executive baseline fee of £5,000 reflects the
estimated cost to the Executive for all applications over
132kilovolts but not exceeding 275 kilovolts. Thereafter the
Executive's fee will increase in proportion to the increase in
voltage and within the overall total proposed fee of
£20,000.
Seeking Your Views
6. Scottish Ministers would welcome your comments and
suggestions about the future of the current statutory
arrangements for fees payable under section 36 and 37 of the
Electricity Act 1989. Your views will help inform future policy
making decisions. 7. A questionnaire is attached and is made up
of three questions which are required to be answered. These
questions are reproduced in Annex B should you wish to keep a
record of your responses.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Fees payable by applicants for consent under The Electricity
(Applications for Consent) Scotland Regulations 1990
Acknowledgements
All responses will be acknowledged either in writing or
electronically. However, please note that in view of the size
and nature of the consultation exercise, it will not be
possible for the Panel to respond individually to comments
received.
Deadline for Responses
The deadline for responses is 31 January 2005.
Q1. Do you agree that the revised scale of fees
detailed in Annex A should be introduced?
Yes
No
Insert any comments on question 1 below.
Q2. Do you agree that arrangements should be
introduced to compensate planning authorities for the
costs they incur in processing Electricity Act consent
cases?
Yes
NoInsert any comments on question 2 below.
Q3. Do you agree with the proposed
re-imbursement arrangements?
Yes No
Insert any comments on question 3 below.
ANNEX A
Scottish Statutory Instruments
ELECTRICITY
The Electricity (Applications for Consent) Amendment
(Scotland) Regulations 2005
Made - - - - 2005
Laid before the Scottish Parliament 2005
Coming into force - - 2005
The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred
by sections 36(8) and 60(3) of, and paragraph 1(3) of Schedule
8 to the Electricity Act 1989(
[1]), and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf,
hereby make the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and extent
1.-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the
Electricity (Applications for Consent) Amendment (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 and shall come into force on [ ] 2005.
(2) These Regulations shall extend to Scotland only.
Amendment of Regulations
2.-(1) The Electricity (Applications for
Consent) Regulations 1990(
[2]) shall be amended as follows.
(2) In regulation 3(1) after "these Regulations-"
insert-
""EIA Development" has the same meaning as set out in
regulation 2(1) of the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact
Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2000(
[3]);".
(3) In regulation 11(1) for the Table
substitute:
TABLE
Subject matter of application for
consent | Fee |
1. Overhead line which is not an EIA
Development | £150 |
2. Overhead line which is an EIA Development
with a voltage- (a) not exceeding 132 kilovolts (b) exceeding 132 kilovolts but not
exceeding 275 kilovolts (c) exceeding 275 kilovolts but not
exceeding 405 kilovolts (d) exceeding 405 kilovolts | £2,000 £15,000 £25,000 £50,000 |
3. Construction or construction and
operation of a generating station of megawatt
capacity- (a) not exceeding 100 (b) exceeding 100 but not exceeding 200 (c) exceeding 200 but not exceeding 500 (d) exceeding 500 | £15,000 £20,000 £30,000 £50,000 |
4. Extension or extension and operation of a
generating station resulting in increase in
megawatt capacity - (a) not exceeding 100 (b) exceeding 100 but not exceeding 200 (c) exceeding 200 but not exceeding 500 (d) exceeding 500 | £15,000 £20,000 £30,000 £50,000 |
5. Extension of a nuclear generating station
by retrofitting of emission control
equipment | £5,000 |
6. Any other extension of a generating
station | £1,000 |
7. Operation only or change to manner of
operation of a generating station | £1,000 |
(4) In regulation 11(2) substitute "heads 3 to 7" with
"heads 4 to 7".
Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers
St Andrew's House, Edinburgh
21 December 2005
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order)
These Regulations, which come into force on [ ] 2005, amend
the Electricity (Applications for Consent) Regulations 1990
("the 1990 Regulations"). The 1990 Regulations apply in
relation to applications for consent under section 36 of the
Electricity Act 1989 ("the 1989 Act") to construct, extend,
operate or change the manner of operation of a generating
station, or under section 37 of the 1989 Act, to install or
keep installed an electric line above ground.
Regulation 2 increases the application fees payable for
consent applications in Scotland by substituting, in regulation
11 of the 1990 Regulations, tables of new fees. The amended
fees and the previously applicable fees are set out in the
following table:
Subject Matter of application for
consent | Current fee under the Electricity
(Applications for Consent) Regulations 1990 | Proposed fee |
Overhead line not an EIA Development (i.e.
not requiring an environmental impact
assessment) | £50 | £150 |
Overhead line which is an EIA Development
(i.e. requiring an environmental impact
assessment) with a voltage not exceeding 132
kilovolts | £50 | £2,000 |
Overhead line which is an EIA Development
(i.e. requiring an environmental impact
assessment)with a voltage exceeding 132
kilovolts but not exceeding 275 kilovolts | £50 | £15,000 |
Overhead line which is an EIA Development
(i.e. requiring an environmental impact
assessment)with a voltage exceeding 275
kilovolts but not exceeding 405 kilovolts | £50 | £25,000 |
Overhead line which is an EIA Development
(i.e. requiring an environmental impact
assessment) with a voltage exceeding 405
kilovolts | £50 | £50,000 |
Construction or construction and operation
of a generating station with a capacity not
exceeding 100 megawatts | Nuclear station: £10,000 Non-nuclear station: £5,000 | £15,000 |
Construction or construction and operation
of a generating station with a capacity
exceeding 100 megawatts but not exceeding 199
megawatts | Nuclear station: £10,000 Non-nuclear station: £5,000 | £20,000 |
Construction or construction and operation
of a generating station with a capacity
exceeding 199 megawatts but not exceeding 500
megawatts | Nuclear station £24,000: Non-nuclear station: £12,000 | £30,000 |
Construction or construction and operation
of a generating station with a capacity
exceeding 500 megawatts | Nuclear station: £40,000 Non-nuclear station: £20,000 | £50,000 |
**Extension or extension and operation of a
generating station resulting in increase in
megawatt capacity not exceeding 100
megawatts | Nuclear station: £10,000 Non-nuclear station: £5,000 | £15,000 |
**Extension or extension and operation of a
generating station resulting in increase in
megawatt capacity exceeding 101 megawatts but
not exceeding 199 megawatts | Nuclear station: £10,000 Non-nuclear station: £5,000 | £20,000 |
**Extension or extension and operation of a
generating station resulting in increase in
megawatt capacity exceeding 199 megawatts but
not exceeding 500 megawatts | Nuclear station £24,000: Non-nuclear station: £12,000 | £30,000 |
**Extension or extension and operation of a
generating station resulting in increase in
megawatt capacity exceeding 500 megawatts | Nuclear station: £40,000 Non-nuclear station: £20,000 | £50,000 |
Extension of nuclear generating station by
retrofitting of emission control equipment | £5,000 | £5,000 |
Any other extension of generating
station | £1,000 | £1,000 |
Operation only or change to manner of
operation of generating station | £1,000 | £1,000 |
ANNEX B
QUESTIONNAIRE
Fees payable by applicants for consent under The Electricity
(Applications for Consent) Scotland Regulations 1990
Acknowledgements
All responses will be acknowledged either in writing or
electronically. However, please note that in view of the size
and nature of the consultation exercise, it will not be
possible for the Panel to respond individually to comments
received.
Deadline for Responses
The deadline for responses is 31 January 2005.
Q1. Do you agree that the revised scale of fees
detailed in Annex A should be introduced?
Yes No
Insert any comments on question 1 below.
Q2. Do you agree that arrangements should be
introduced to compensate planning authorities for the
costs they incur in processing Electricity Act consent
cases?
Yes No
Insert any comments on question 2 below.
Q3. Do you agree with the proposed arrangements
for the re-imbursement arrangements?
Yes No
Insert any comments on question 3 below.
(
[1]) 1989 c.29. The functions of the
Secretary of State were transferred to the Scottish
Ministers by virtue of the Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer
of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc.) Order 1999
(S.I. 1999/1750), article 2 and Schedule 1.
(
[2]) S.I. 1990/455.
(
[3]) S.S.I. 2000/320.
Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Analysis of Responses
Chapter 3: Analysis of Questions
Chapter 4: Conclusion
Annex B: Distribution List