Overview
The purpose of the Energy Safety Review Bill ("ESRB") is to improve the electricity and gas safety regimes to effectively protect members of the public and property, and to improve the occupational regulation of electrical workers, gasfitters, plumbers and drainlayers.
The Bill implements decisions based on the EnergySafe Working Party recommendations made in 2001. It represents an ongoing commitment by government to the safe delivery and use of electricity and gas. A number of the EnergySafe decisions - in particular, competency-based licensing - have also been adopted for the plumbing and drainlaying regimes, recognising that Health objectives are also of vital importance to government.
Features of the Bill include:
- enabling the Electrical Workers Licensing Board and the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Board (the Boards which have responsibility for occupational regulation) to define licence categories and determine competence standards
- moving from a registration plus licensing system to a licensing system based on on-going competency assurance administered by the relevant Boards
- enabling the public to easily recognise a licensed worker by way of publicly available registers, in line with the licensing scheme for building practitioners under the Building Act 2004
- the bill providing for improved processes for handling complaints against licensed workers that are co-ordinated, fair and transparent
- requiring every owner of an electricity or gas supply system to implement and maintain a safety management system to ensure there is no significant risk of serious harm to the public or significant damage to property
- removing areas of legislative duplication with the Health and Safety in Employment Act (in particular, duplication of accident notification requirements) that weaken the effectiveness of the safety regimes for electricity and gas.
The Bill also proposes amendments to offence and fine provisions (including the introduction of an "instant fine" regime), and improvements to the powers of the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Economic Development to deal with safety concerns.
The Bill is available to download at no cost at The Knowledge Basket, in plain text format. (Search for "Energy Safety Review Bill".) Alternatively it can be purchased from Legislation Direct at $35 for a PDF file or $6.85 + $5.00 freight for a printed copy. Printed copies are also available from Bennetts Government Bookshops.
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