17.— (1) Section 2(1) (as amended by section 22 of the Act of 2002) of the Act of 1999 is amended—

(a) by inserting after the definition of “licence” the following:

“ ‘LPG incident’ means an event or occurrence of a class prescribed by regulations made by the Commission under section 9JG;

‘LPG safety licence’ means a licence granted under section 9JE;

‘LPG undertaking’ means any person who imports LPG or purchases LPG directly from a refinery within the State and makes LPG available to individual domestic or commercial final customers by way of LPG cylinder, bulk tank or via a piped LPG distribution network;”,

(b) by substituting for the definition of “Minister” the following:

“ ‘Minister’ means Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources;

‘natural gas infrastructure’ means any pipeline, facility, structure or installation which is or has been established, maintained or operated, for the purpose of the supply, storage, transmission, distribution and use of natural gas under a natural gas licence;

‘piped LPG distribution network’ means a pipeline system connected to a central storage bulk tank or LPG cylinder but not including a bulk tank or LPG cylinder as the case may be, and includes pipework above and below ground and all other equipment necessary upstream of the point of delivery and downstream of the emergency control valve, supplying gas to two or more customers;”.

(2) Section 9 of the Act of 1999 is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting for paragraphs (ea) and (eb) (inserted by section 12 of the Act of 2006) the following:

“(ea) to regulate the activities of natural gas undertakings, holders of LPG safety licences for the purposes of making LPG available via a piped LPG distribution network and natural gas installers, with respect to safety,

(eb) to promote the safety of—

(i) natural gas customers and the public generally as respects the supply, storage, transmission, distribution and use of natural gas (excluding such activities carried out at upstream pipelines or facilities except where such pipeline or facility is engaged in the storage of natural gas), and

(ii) LPG customers and the public generally as respects the supply and use of LPG,”,

(b) in subsection (1G) (inserted by section 12 of the Act of 2006) by substituting for paragraph (a) the following:

“(a) In carrying out its functions under paragraphs (ea), (eb) and (ed) the Commission shall, having consulted with the Minister, establish and implement a LPG and natural gas safety regulatory framework, and report annually to the Minister on the functioning of such framework,”,

(c) in subsection (1G) (inserted by section 12 of the Act of 2006) by substituting for subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (b) the following:

“(iv) procedures for the investigation of a LPG incident as prescribed by regulations under section 9H and any incidents involving natural gas which in the opinion of the Commission warrant such investigation,”,

(d) by substituting for subsection (1H) (inserted by section 12 of the Act of 2006) the following:

“(1H) (a) In carrying out its functions under paragraphs (ea), (eb) and (ed) of subsection (1) the Commission may require natural gas undertakings and LPG undertakings to regularly advise and provide information to their final customers and the public as respects—

(i) best practice in relation to the safe use of natural gas and LPG and on the operation and maintenance of natural gas fittings and LPG fittings, and

(ii) the detection and reporting of natural gas and LPG leaks and other faults in natural gas fittings and LPG fittings,

in such manner as the Commission may, from time to time, direct.

(b) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), the Commission may direct a natural gas undertaking or a LPG undertaking, as the case may be, to engage in, either on its own or in concert with any other natural gas undertaking or LPG undertaking (whether or not such other undertaking operates within the State), campaigns promoting natural gas safety or LPG safety, as the case may be, which campaigns shall take such form as the Commission may specify in its direction and each natural gas undertaking or LPG undertaking concerned shall comply with any such direction.”,

(e) in section 9H (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2006) by substituting for subsections (1) and (2) (as amended by section 26 of the Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010) the following:

“9H.— (1) The Commission may, in the performance of its functions under paragraphs (ea), (eb) and (ed) of section 9(1) make regulations relating to gas safety.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) regulations made under this section may provide for—

(a) specifications or requirements regarding the installation or maintenance of natural gas fittings and LPG fittings, and

(b) the conditions to be fulfilled before natural gas or LPG may be connected or reconnected to any premises following the installation, maintenance, modification or repair of a natural gas fitting or LPG fitting, as the case may be.”,

(f) by substituting for section 9I (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2006) the following:

“9I.— (1) A transmission system operator or a distribution system operator in relation to natural gas or a holder of a LPG safety licence may appoint a person to be a gas emergency officer for the purposes of this section.

(2) A gas emergency officer may, subject to this section, enter and inspect any land (with reasonable force, if he or she considers it necessary in the circumstances) without giving notice or obtaining the consent of any person, and there take such measures as the officer considers appropriate for the protection of any person or any property from any danger arising from natural gas or LPG.

(3) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall be furnished with a certificate of his or her appointment by the system operator or LPG undertaking making the appointment, and when exercising a power conferred by this section shall, if requested by any person thereby affected, produce such certificate to such person.

(4) A gas emergency officer may not exercise the powers conferred by this section unless he or she is of the opinion that there is or may be a danger to any person or property arising from—

(a) the use, misuse or leakage of natural gas or LPG, or

(b) a defect or possible defect in any pipeline or natural gas fitting or LPG fitting.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), in exercising his or her powers under this section a gas emergency officer may—

(a) instruct any person to evacuate any place until such time as the premises are, in the opinion of the officer, safe,

(b) instruct any person to perform or refrain from performing any act, if in the opinion of the officer, the performance or non-performance of such act is necessary in order to reduce or prevent any danger arising from natural gas or LPG,

(c) search for any escaped natural gas or LPG, or any leak or defect in any pipeline or natural gas fitting or LPG fitting, or

(d) interrupt or disconnect the supply of natural gas or LPG without notice.

(6) Where a gas emergency officer enters on land in pursuance of powers conferred by this section, the transmission system operator or the distribution system operator or a LPG undertaking on whose behalf the entry was made shall ensure as soon as possible after the powers have been exercised under this section that—

(a) the land is left no less secure by reason of the entry, and

(b) any damage caused by the gas emergency officer is made good or that compensation is paid to the occupier or owner of the land concerned.

(7) A person who—

(a) obstructs or impedes a gas emergency officer in the exercise of powers conferred by this section,

(b) fails or refuses to comply with an instruction given by a gas emergency officer under this section,

(c) knowingly gives to a gas emergency officer information which is false or misleading in a material respect, or

(d) turns on or reconnects the supply of natural gas or LPG where supply has been turned off or disconnected by a gas emergency officer, without the consent of a gas emergency officer,

commits an offence.

(8) A person who commits an offence under subsection (7) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €15,000 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to both.”,

and

(g) in section 9J(2)(a) (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2006) by inserting after subparagraph (i) the following:

“(ia) piped LPG distribution network,”.