These Regulations may be cited as the Energy Act 2023 (Commencement No. 4) Regulations 2025.
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.
Arguments For
Implementing changes to nuclear liability frameworks by bringing Section 304 of the Energy Act 2023 into force, which modifies the exclusion criteria for certain nuclear disposal sites under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.
Providing regulatory certainty for the energy sector, particularly regarding the management and legal status of nuclear matter disposal sites.
Arguments Against
The staggered commencement of various sections of the 2023 Act may create temporary complexity in understanding which legal provisions are active at any given time.
Introducing or modifying exclusion routes from the nuclear third party liability regime could alter risk allocation and compensation mechanisms related to nuclear incidents.
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 334(1) of the Energy Act 2023.
The responsible Minister, the Secretary of State, officially issues these regulations.
This action is legally grounded in the authority granted by subsection 334(1) of the Energy Act 2023.
Citation1.
This section provides the official short legal name for this statutory instrument.
It identifies this document as the fourth set of commencement regulations designated for the Energy Act 2023, applicable in the year 2025.
Provision coming into force on 2nd December 20252.
Section 304 of the Energy Act 2023 (excluded disposal sites) comes into force on 2nd December 2025, insofar as it is not already in force.
This regulation specifies the commencement date for a particular part of the primary legislation.
Section 304 of the Energy Act 2023, which addresses 'excluded disposal sites,' becomes legally effective on December 2nd, 2025, applying only to any parts of that section that had not started previously.
Vallance
Minister of State
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
This section details the formal endorsement of the regulations.
It shows that Minister Vallance, acting as Minister of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, signed this instrument on November 6th, 2025.
Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations bring into force on 2nd December 2025 specified provisions of the Energy Act 2023 (c. 52) (“the Act”). These are the fourth set of commencement regulations under the Act.
Regulation 2 brings into force the remaining provisions of section 304, amending the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (c. 57) to create a route by which certain installations for the disposal of nuclear matter can be excluded from the nuclear third party liability regime established by that Act.
This note clarifies that the document activates specific parts of the Energy Act 2023 on December 2nd, 2025, being the fourth such set of commencement orders.
It specifically explains that Regulation 2 deals with Section 304, which alters the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 to permit certain sites dealing with nuclear matter disposal to be exempt from that Act's compulsory third-party liability rules.
NOTE AS TO EARLIER COMMENCEMENT REGULATIONS
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
The following provisions of the Energy Act 2023 have been brought into force by commencement Regulations made before the date of these Regulations.
Provision | Date of Commencement | S.I. No. |
|---|---|---|
Sections 103 to 106 | 11th January 2024 | |
Section 156 | 10th September 2024 | |
Sections 161 to 165 | 31st January 2024 | |
Section 166(1) | 31st January 2024 | |
Section 166(2) | 1st October 2024 | |
Section 166(3) to (10) | 31st January 2024 | |
Section 167 | 31st January 2024 | |
Section 168(1) | 31st January 2024 | |
Section 168(2) | 1st October 2024 | |
Section 168(3) to (5) | 31st January 2024 | |
Sections 171 to 173 | 31st January 2024 | |
Sections 176 to 179 | 31st January 2024 | |
Sections 182 to 201 | 10th September 2024 | |
Section 209 | 10th September 2024 | |
Sections 238 to 249 | 11th January 2024 | |
Sections 267 to 289 | 11th January 2024 | |
Sections 296 to 298 | 11th January 2024 | |
Section 299(1) and (2) | 11th January 2024 | |
Sections 300 and 301 | 11th January 2024 | |
Section 302 | 10th September 2024 | |
Section 304(3)(partially)3 | 11th January 2024 | |
Section 310 | 31st January 2024 | |
Schedule 6 | 11th January 2024 | |
Schedule 11 paragraphs 1 and 2 | 1st October 2024 | |
Schedule 11 paragraph 3 | 31st January 2024 | |
Schedule 11 paragraphs 4 and 5 | 1st October 2024 | |
Schedule 11 paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 | 31st January 2024 | |
Schedule 12 | 10th September 2024 | |
Schedule 13 | 10th September 2024 | |
Schedule 14 | 10th September 2024 | |
Schedule 19 | 11th January 2024 | |
Schedule 20 | 11th January 2024 | |
Schedule 21 | 11th January 2024 |
This note documents when various other provisions of the Energy Act 2023 were brought into force by previous commencement regulations issued in 2024.
The table lists specific sections and schedules alongside their respective commencement dates and the Statutory Instrument (S.I.) number that enacted those changes, showing a pattern of phased implementation.
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