Department of Trade and Industry: Reform of Energy Regulation: Registered Files (DTM...

This series contains the registered files of the Reform of Energy Regulation Team. These records relate to the development of energy (gas and electricity) provisions in the Utilities Act 2000.

Alphanumeric: prefix, number, part

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

The Reform of Energy Regulation Team (1998-2000) started within the Energy Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The team was responsible for implementing the gas and electricity aspects for the review of the utility regulation and collaborated with other teams on the development of the Utilities Bill.

The Utilities Bill was published in 2000, establishing the new public body Ofgem to oversee the electricity and gas markets and the protection of current and future consumer interests. In response, DTI moved the team into the newly created Energy Utilities Directorate to liaise with Ofgem and provide greater focus on the electricity and gas sector.

In 2008 the team became part of UK Trade & Investment, which at the time reported to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Their remit expanded significantly, covering international energy markets for electricity, gas and petrol and the development of the North Sea Oil infrastructure.

As the issue of climate change came into sharper focus, the team was transferred into the Department of Energy and Climate Change in 2009, where they helped reform the energy market to ensure the UK had a diverse, safe, secure and affordable energy system and incentivised low carbon investment and deployment.

In 2017, the team was moved to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, where they continued their climate change responsibilities, working towards tackling green house gas emissions and achieving net zero by 2050.