S.I. No. 106/2026 - Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Gas Works) Regulations 2026

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 27th March, 2026.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, in exercise of the powers conferred on it under section 9G of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (No. 23 of 1999), as inserted by the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 (No. 40 of 2006) and amended by the Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010 (No. 11 of 2010), having taken into account the matters raised in the public consultation process carried out by the Commission under section 9G(1) of that Act, and the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment having given his consent, hereby makes the following regulations:

GENERAL

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Gas Works) Regulations 2026.

2. These Regulations come into operation on 01 September 2026.

3. In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires—

“Act” means the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (No. 23 of 1999) as may be amended from time to time;

“appliance” means a unit of equipment that utilises natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas, or both, for any of the purposes specified in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/426;

“commercial premises” means any building or land or part of a building or land to which the public has access and which may also be used for the purposes of carrying on a trade, profession, or business; including any building under construction for the purposes of carrying on any of these purposes, but not including any domestic premises or any industrial premises;

“distribution systems” means the network of pipes which transports gas from the natural gas transmission system, LPG storage system or a gas manufacturing plant to the point of delivery.

“domestic premises” means any building used wholly or mainly as a private dwelling;

“gas customer” means an end user who uses natural gas, or liquefied petroleum gas, or both for purposes including, but not limited to, cooking, refrigeration, air-conditioning, space heating, hot water production, lighting, washing, the use of forced draught burners and heating bodies to be equipped with such burners utilising gas and gas burning appliances approved under the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2016/426;

“industrial premises” means any building or part of a building used wholly or mainly for a process that creates, manufactures, mines, processes or changes raw or unfinished materials into another form, product or byproduct.

“I.S. 813” means the Irish Standard Specification I.S 813 Domestic Gas Installations which is published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and which may be amended from time to time;

“I.S. 820” means the Irish Standard Specification I.S.820 Non-Domestic Gas Installations which is published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and which may be amended from time to time;

“I.S. EN 1949” means the Irish Standard Specification I.S. EN 1949 for the Installation of LPG Systems for Habitation Purposes in Leisure Accommodation Vehicles and in other Vehicles, which is published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and which may be amended from time to time;

“I.S. EN ISO 9606 - 1” means the Irish Standard Specification I.S EN ISO 9606 Part 1 Qualification Testing of Welders - Fusion Welding – Steels which is published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and which may be amended from time to time;

“I.S. EN 15001 - 1” means the Irish Standard Specification I.S EN 15001 Part 1 Gas Infrastructure which is published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and which may be amended from time to time;

“I.S. EN 15001 - 2” means the Irish Standard Specification I.S EN 15001 Part 2 Gas Supply Systems which is published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and which may be amended from time to time;

“liquefied petroleum gas” or “LPG” means gas having the characteristic of being easily liquefied by the application of pressure, including gas which is provided as commercial butane, or commercial propane, or mixtures thereof;

“LPG fitting” means any non-portable appliance, or any apparatus or other item, including associated pipework and flueing;

“natural gas” means gas largely consisting of methane, distributed through a network of pipes;

“natural gas fitting” means any appliance, or any apparatus or other piece of equipment, including associated pipework and flueing;

“point of delivery” means the point immediately downstream of the control device fitted to terminate the service pipe; For LPG, other than LPG distribution systems, the point of delivery is at the outlet of the storage vessel(s) isolation valve(s).

“welding” means a joining process of steel pipework in which two or more parts are united producing a continuity in the nature of the workpiece material(s).

4. (1) For the purposes of section 9G of the Act, the Commission hereby designates the following classes of works to be gas works:

(a) The installation, removal, repair, servicing, maintenance, replacement, or any combination of the foregoing, of

(i) a natural gas fitting,

(ii) an LPG fitting, or

(iii) an appliance.

(b) The natural gas fittings, LPG fittings, and appliances referred to in subparagraph (1) of this regulation shall be those installations including fittings and appliances from the point of delivery that are:

(i) covered by either of I.S. 820, I.S. 813, I.S. EN 1949, or a combination thereof; and

(ii) are used, designed or intended to be used by a gas customer in a domestic premises, in a commercial premises, or in both.

(2) For the avoidance of doubt, the works designated as gas works pursuant to regulation 4(1) do not include–

(a) The installation, removal, repair, servicing, maintenance, replacement, or any combination of the foregoing of natural gas fittings, LPG fittings, or appliances used or designed to be used in industrial premises;

(b) Work that is covered by I.S. EN 15001 – 1, or I.S. EN 15001 – 2, or by both;

(c) The design of gas works;

(d) Work carried out at the point of delivery and upstream of the point of delivery;

(e) Work carried out on natural gas fittings, LPG fittings or appliances for the supply of gas for automotive use;

(f) The connection or replacement of a flexible connector connecting a refillable cylinder to installation pipework;

(g) Work, other than work that constitutes repair or maintenance, carried out on portable or mobile LPG equipment and appliances without fixed installation pipework, achieved by a flexible connector from an adjacent LPG storage cylinder;

(h) Work that is specifically designed to be effected by a person without the use of a tool;

(i) The manufacture of appliances, natural gas fittings, or LPG fittings; and

(j) Welding carried out on dry steel gas pipework in domestic or commercial premises carried out by a competent person in accordance with I.S. E.N. ISO 9606-1.

(3) In subclause (j) of subparagraph (2), work carried out on dry gas pipework shall include joint preparation, work carried out on associated brackets, work carried out on hangers and fixing systems, the installation and alignment of dry gas pipework, the preparation of the weld, and the execution of the welding on dry steel gas pipework.

(4) The exclusion provided for under subclause (j) of subparagraph (2) does not include connection of new pipework to an existing gas installation.

5. The following Regulations are hereby revoked:

(a) the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Gas Works) Regulations 2009 ( S.I. No. 225 of 2009 ); and

(b) the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Liquefied Petroleum Gas Works) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 299 of 2011 ).

6. The revocation of any enactment, or part of an enactment, by these Regulations —

(a) does not affect any investigations under the Act ongoing at the time of revocation, and

(b) does not affect the prosecution of offences under the Act which may have been committed before the time of revocation.

Sealed with the common seal of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities on

24 March, 2026.

FERGAL MULLIGAN,

Chair of the Commission..

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

(This note is not a part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations repeal and replace the arrangements put in place by the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Gas Works) Regulations 2009 ( S.I. No. 225 of 2009 ) and the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Liquefied Petroleum Gas Works) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 299 of 2011 ). The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, in exercise of the powers conferred on it under Section 9G of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (No. 23 of 1999), as amended by the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 (No. 40 of 2006), having taken into account the matters raised in the public consultation process carried out by the Commission under Section 9G (1) of that Act and with the consent of the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment designates a class of works to be gas works for the purposes of Section 9G(3) of that Act. These Regulations define gas works as any works relating to the installation, removal, repair, or replacement of a natural gas fitting, an LPG fitting, or certain appliances, which fittings and appliances are used, designed, or intended to be used by a gas customer, be it in a Domestic or Commercial premises in which the fittings or appliances are located. Gas works that fall under the classes of works above, can only be carried out by persons designated under Section 9G (3) of that Act.