UK could face EU fine over Northern Ireland energy policy failures

It has referred the UK, along with Bulgaria and Estonia, to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for having only "partially transposed" the Electricity and Gas Directives. Member states had until 3 March 2011 to update national law to reflect the changes.

Although the Directives are in force in the rest of the UK, they do not yet apply in Northern Ireland, which is responsible for its own energy policy. Work to implement the legislation is expected to be completed by spring.

"The EU needs an internal energy market to tackle Europe's energy and climate challenges and to ensure affordable and secure energy supplies to households and businesses," Günther Oettinger, the EU's Energy Commissioner, said. "Delays in implementation of the EU Internal Energy Market rules have negative effects on all players and are therefore not acceptable."

Last year the Commission referred Poland, Slovenia and Finland to the CJEU for failing to fully implement the package of measures, also known as the Third Energy Package. A CJEU referral is the third step in the Commission's formal process against member states that do not comply with its rules. The Commission said that it was "examining the situation" in other countries which had not yet responded to the second stage of the process, known as a 'reasoned opinion'.

The Commission has recommended that the UK be subject to a daily penalty of €148,177.92 for each Directive from the day of the CJEU's judgment until each Directive is fully transposed. The suggested penalty reflects the "duration and gravity" of the infringement. The CJEU will have the power to order a different penalty if it decides it is appropriate to do so.

The third energy liberalisation package was adopted in July 2009. It aims to prevent the formation of energy company monopolies by splitting their energy production and supply activities, as well as making it easier for third parties to gain access to private pipelines.

A spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) described the Commission's actions as "regrettable" given the "significant work" completed in the UK in relation to the Directives. Work was due to be completed by April 2013, the spokesperson said.