Sections 14(1A to 1D) and 16(3A to 3D) of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (as amended) allow that the CRU may provide for the licensing and authorisation of certain classes of generating station by order, can amend or revoke such orders, and must provide appropriate notice of the intention to make such orders, including draft text for the orders.

Statutory Instruments (SIs) 383 and 384 of 2008 previously defined two classes of smaller generating station:
• generators not exceeding 1 MW, where no application to the CRU is required, and
• generators not exceeding 10 MW where an application is required to stand authorised and licensed under these Orders.

Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (the ‘Renewable Energy Directive’) and Directive (EU) 2019/944 (the ‘Internal Market in Electricity Directive’), provide that Regulatory Authorities shall ensure that the authorisation process for small generators is proportionate to their size and impact.

Statutory Notices of the CRU’s intention to replace SIs 383 and 384, along with the draft text of the proposed replacements, were published in July 2022. The existing classes of generating station were retained, but the draft SIs defined a simpler process for generators greater than 1 MW and not exceeding 10 MW in capacity to obtain an Authorisation to Construct and/or a Licence to Generate.

On September 7th, 2002, SIs 383 and 384 of 2008 were revoked and replaced with SIs 459 and 460 of 2022, and as of 29th November 2022, the SIs have completed their period of laying before the Houses of the Oireachtas. Generators not exceeding 10 MW installed capacity are now required to provide a notification to the CRU of their intention to construct/operate a generating station, and upon receipt of an acknowledgement from the CRU confirming the validity of said notification, the generators will stand duly authorised and/or licenced without further assessment.