Consultation on fuel
resilience measures: government response
PDF, 190KB,
27 pages
Detail of outcome
June 2021
Parliament published the draft Downstream Oil
Resilience Bill 2021, containing measures which provide
government with powers to ensure that fuel supply system
resilience is maintained.
Based on the response to this consultation, the measures only
apply to companies operating or owning facilities in the
downstream oil sector and are limited for the purpose of ensuring
fuel supply resilience. They include:
-
directions - power to direct Downstream
Operators to take action that may be necessary to ensure
resilience and continuity of supply
-
information - to enable collection of
information to better understand the impact of potential
disruptive events, and to use the information to support
industry in improving fuel resilience
-
restriction on acquisitions - to ensure that
new owners of critical fuel infrastructure are financially
sound and operationally capable
-
financial assistance - to enable government to
support supply resilience improvements
Government has heard clearly industry’s calls for a light-touch
approach to measures, with careful consideration taken to
minimise any impacts on market dynamics and competitiveness. We
will continue to work with industry on refining the proposed
measures to ensure that this aim is achieved. There will be
further opportunity to comment on the draft legislation and
detail of the measures, where appropriate.
Detail of feedback received
We received responses from 28 stakeholders. These included:
- refiners
- wholesalers
- terminal and storage owners
- hauliers
- retailers
- end users
- consumer representatives
- the devolved administrations
Overall, there were varying levels of support for the measures
proposed in the consultation. Some stakeholders felt that the
sector’s track record of maintaining supply argued against any
new measures, whereas others maintained that improved resilience
was necessary to reduce risk for consumers.
Original consultation Summary
Proposals to strengthen the resilience of fuel supply to UK
consumers.
This consultation ran from
1pm on 17 October 2017 to 11:45pm on 12 December 2017
Consultation description
We are consulting on possible new measures to maintain the
security of fuel supply to consumers. The proposed measures would
apply to companies operating in the downstream oil sector and
form part of a wider package of proposed reforms to government’s
approach to the protection of critical infrastructure.
These proposals are consistent with the department’s objective of
ensuring that the UK has secure and reliable energy supplies, and
our ongoing work with the sector on fuel supply resilience.
This consultation seeks views on proposals to improve fuel supply
resilience in the following areas:
- Monitor - to enable BEIS
to collect information from the downstream oil sector to better
understand the impact of potential disruptive events, and to use
the information to support industry in improving fuel resilience
- Protect - to align this sector with protections that apply in
other critical service sectors, by enabling government to ensure
that new owners of critical fuel infrastructure are financially
sound and operationally capable; and to take government spending
power to enable government to support supply resilience
improvements and schemes
- Insure - to enable industry to create and operate collective,
sector-wide industry-led schemes to maintain fuel supply in case
normal supply arrangements are seriously disrupted; and a power
to direct individual companies to participate in such schemes and
take other action that may be necessary to ensure resilience
The purpose of the consultation is to gain a formal view from
industry and other interested parties on the proposals in this
consultation document, and your ideas as to how these proposals
can be improved.
Documents
Downstream oil supply
resilience: proposals to strengthen the resilience of fuel supply
to UK consumers
PDF, 793KB,
55 pages
Downstream oil supply
resilience: Impact Assessment
PDF, 893KB,
37 pages
Commercial Fuels
template
MS Excel Spreadsheet, 127KB
DORS template
MS Excel Spreadsheet, 242KB
Haulier
template
MS Excel Spreadsheet, 473KB
LPG template
Terminal
template
MS Excel Spreadsheet, 50.7KB
