Derogations from standards

A derogation is a direction from the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (our governing body, the Authority), relieving a licensee from its obligation to comply with a technical standard or code in its licence in specified circumstances and to a specified extent.

There may be occasions when a licensee assesses that it is not in a position to comply with a particular code or standard, or that the requirements placed upon it by a code or standard may result in an inefficient outcome either in the short or longer term. In these circumstances, a licensee may submit a request to us for derogation from the licence requirement.

A request for a derogation should be submitted in writing to us and should include sufficient information to enable the Authority to make a decision, including a comprehensive and (where possible) quantitative assessment of the impact of the proposed non-compliance on:

• consumers
• competition
• sustainable development
• health and safety and the associated risk management measures
• other parties affected by the non-compliance, including the ability of the relevant system operator to operate its system.