Commenced new offshore abandonment charging provisions and established transitional protections for pending fee determinations.

These Regulations bring into force provisions of the Energy Act 2023 that reform how the UK government charges for the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations and pipelines.

The order repeals existing fee-setting powers in the Petroleum Act 1998 and brings into effect new expenditure recovery mechanisms, while maintaining the older fee structure for projects that are already underway or have submitted formal requests by 30 September 2026.

These rules apply to offshore installation operators and owners of submarine pipelines, excluding those dedicated to carbon capture and storage.

The Regulations amended existing 2017 conservation law to establish specific compensatory measure requirements and administrative processes for certain UK offshore wind projects approved despite negative site assessments.

These Regulations, made under the Energy Act 2023, amend the 2017 Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations and the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations to introduce a specific framework for securing compensatory measures related to 'relevant offshore wind plans or projects' approved despite negative environmental impact assessments.

The amendments effectively disapply existing general duties regarding site coherence and introduce a new mechanism requiring compensatory measures to benefit the UK MPA network proportionately, selected according to a published compensation hierarchy, with specific approval and review responsibilities assigned to the Secretary of State, Welsh Ministers, and Scottish Ministers across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The regulations specified the mandatory disclosure periods for protected carbon storage and offshore petroleum information and samples obtained by the OGA, and amended a related 2018 disclosure regulation.

The Oil and Gas Authority (Carbon Storage and Offshore Petroleum) (Specified Periods for Disclosure of Protected Material) Regulations 2025 specify the regulatory windows following data collection during which the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) or subsequent holders can disclose protected material, including information and samples, related to carbon capture and storage (CCS) and offshore petroleum activities.

These regulations establish different disclosure timelines based on the sensitivity and nature of the material—some information can be published immediately, while detailed technical data, well information, injection/production records, and physical samples are subject to defined confidentiality periods, often contingent on reporting deadlines, system closures, or licence determination events.

Furthermore, the instrument amends a 2018 regulation concerning offshore petroleum data to align its disclosure deadline with the "reporting deadline" specified by the OGA.

The Secretary of State established the Marine Recovery Funds Regulations 2025 under the Energy Act 2023, detailing the administration, operational rules, application procedures, and compensation mechanisms for mitigating the environmental impact of offshore wind activities across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

These Regulations establish the framework for the creation, operation, and management of Marine Recovery Funds (MRFs) across the UK, designed to channel payments from entities responsible for adverse environmental effects of offshore wind activities towards approved compensatory measures.

The Secretary of State is empowered to set up these funds territorially, determine the application procedure for 'MRF applicants' seeking to make compensation payments, approve environmental 'measures,' and manage the subsequent delivery, monitoring, and adaptation of those measures through 'MRF contracts.'

* The Clean Heat Market Mechanism Regulations 2025 were amended to confirm MCS as the certification scheme, adjust hybrid heating definitions, and raise the low-carbon heat target to 8% starting April 2026.

These Regulations amend the Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM) Regulations 2025, which established the mandatory scheme requiring boiler manufacturers to meet escalating targets for installing low-carbon heat pumps proportionate to their fossil fuel boiler sales in the UK. The amendments officially designate the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) as the sole approval scheme for CHMM compliance, update the criteria for what qualifies as a hybrid heating system, and most significantly, increase the required low-carbon heat installation target for scheme years beginning April 1, 2026, from 6% to 8% of relevant boiler sales.

The Regulations brought into force the remaining provisions of Section 304 of the Energy Act 2023 concerning excluded disposal sites on December 2nd, 2025, as part of the fourth commencement order for the Act.

These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State under the powers in the Energy Act 2023, specify that provisions of that Act will commence on 2nd December 2025; specifically, Regulation 2 brings into force the remaining parts of Section 304, which amends the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 to establish a pathway for excluding specific installations used for disposing of nuclear matter from the existing nuclear third party liability regime.

The regulations amended the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 to implement the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, removing a lower liability cap for claims and making consequential amendments to related provisions.

The Nuclear Installations (Compensation for Nuclear Damage) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 amend the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 to implement the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC).

The amendments remove a lower liability cap for claims under the CSC, unifying the liability limit with the one applied under the Paris Convention.

This increase in potential compensation is aimed at better protecting victims of nuclear incidents while aligning UK law with international standards.

Consequential changes across several sections of the 1965 Act ensure consistency and functionality in managing compensation claims.

The Gas and Electricity Markets Authority established a competitive selection process for code managers of designated documents, including eligibility criteria, conflict of interest management, selection criteria, and public notice requirements.

The Code Manager Selection (Competitive) Regulations 2025 establish a framework for the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority to competitively select code managers for designated documents.

The regulations detail eligibility requirements, conflict-of-interest provisions, selection criteria, notice publication procedures, and provisions for cancellation or disqualification.

The selection process includes an open or restricted procedure, with the Authority publishing notices at each stage and considering any representations received.