On 19 June 2026, the Secretary of State made the Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026, a tightly drawn statutory instrument that came into force on 20 June 2026. According to the text published on legislation.gov.uk, the Regulations extend to Northern Ireland only and amend Schedule 5 to the Energy Prices Act 2022. The change is brief in drafting terms, but it affects the period during which certain powers under the 2022 Act may be exercised in relation to Northern Ireland. This is a timing amendment, not a fresh package of energy measures.
Regulation 2 makes one substantive amendment to paragraph 7(1)(a) of Schedule 5. It replaces the figure of 26 months with 6 years in the provision that sets the relevant period for exercising certain Northern Ireland powers under the Act. The explanatory note states that the previous rule referred to the first period of 26 months to end after the Act was passed during the whole of which both the First Minister and deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland had held office. The new rule keeps that structure in place, but substitutes a six-year period for the earlier 26-month period.
In plain English, the amendment does not create new powers and it does not alter the territorial scope of the Act. It also does not simply start a new six-year period from 20 June 2026. What it changes is the statutory test that determines when the Northern Ireland exercise window closes. That distinction matters. The Act still links the availability of these powers to a qualifying period tied to continuous occupation of the First Minister and deputy First Minister posts. By changing the relevant period from 26 months to 6 years, the Regulations move that closure point much further out.
The instrument does not include a fuller policy narrative on why the period has been extended. On the face of the legislation, however, the immediate effect is to defer the point at which the paragraph 7(1)(a) condition is satisfied, keeping the Schedule 5 powers available for longer. For policy teams, legal advisers and market participants, that makes this a continuity measure. It preserves room for the Government to rely on existing statutory powers in Northern Ireland if required, rather than adding a new category of intervention.
For the public, the immediate practical effect is limited. The Regulations do not announce a new rebate, price cap, discount or payment, and the explanatory note says no full impact assessment has been produced because no significant effect on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen. For suppliers, officials and compliance teams, the significance is mainly procedural. The earlier 26-month threshold no longer governs the closing point for these Northern Ireland powers, which means the relevant provisions remain legally available for a substantially longer period under the amended wording.
The parliamentary route is also notable. The preamble records that the instrument was made under paragraph 7(3) of Schedule 5 to the Energy Prices Act 2022, and that a draft was laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House before the Regulations were made. Martin McCluskey, Minister for Energy Consumers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, signed the instrument on 19 June 2026. The text also notes that wording in paragraph 7(1) had already been substituted by S.I. 2025/204, making this a further technical adjustment to an already amended provision. The immediate policy question is therefore narrow but important: not whether the law has changed, because it has, but when the preserved Northern Ireland powers may next need to be used in practice.