The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 1997 (Amended in 2003) establishes three new statutory rights:
- A legal right for each person to access information held by public bodies;
- A legal right for each person to have official information relating to him/herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading;
- A legal right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting oneself.
The Act asserts the right of members of the public to obtain access to official information to the greatest extent possible consistent with the public interest and the right to privacy of individuals.
Please click here to view the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act 2003.
Freedom of Information - Information Manual
An Information Guide to the Commission for Energy Regulation - Prepared in accordance with Section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act, 1997: This manual is intended as a practical guide to the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). It includes information about how the CER functions, the classes of records held and the types of information that are routinely made available.
Freedom of Information - Section 16
This section outlines an information guide to the exercise of functions by the Commission for Energy Regulation, in accordance with the requirements of Section 16 of the Freedom of Information Act, 1997.
The CER's Safety functions are to:
Regulate the activities of electrical contractors with respect to safety,
Regulate the activities of both natural gas and LPG undertakings/Installers with respect to safety,
Promote the safe use of natural gas and LPG to customers and the public generally,
Implement a Gas Safety Regulatory Framework.
Regulate the activities of petroleum undertakings with respect to safety through the Petroleum Safety Framework.
Commission Rules
The Commission makes a large number of decisions in relation to its regulatory functions each year. Decisions are published in the relevant sections of the CER's website as well as on the "Documents by Year" section. Please note - the Commission does not publish decisions which it has made in relation to personal or business complaints or disputes against energy undertakings. This is for reasons of confidentiality in these cases. The document below outlines the Commission's rules and procedures:
Commission Rules and Procedures cer09014.pdf (0.03 MB, Adobe PDF)
Commission Consultation Process
The Commission carries our full public consultation prior to making its decision on all key regulatory issues. The Commission complies with guidelines which it has set itself in relation to public consultation:
Link to Consultation Guidelines
Commission Financing
The Commission is financed by a levy on energy undertakings. This levy varies from year to year. Our annual reports contain our audited financial statements.
Please follow the link below to a list of the CER's Annual Reports.
Link to Annual Reports
Commission Code of Conduct
The Commission has developed and enforced a Code of Business Conduct which all staff (including members of the Commission) must comply with. Compliance with this Code of Conduct ensures confidence amongst our stakeholders in the regulatory process and decisions under the responsibility of the Commission.
To view the Commission's Code of Business Conduct, please click on the document below:
Commission Customer Charter
The Commission has developed a Customer Charter in line with the Government's Guidelines on Quality of Customer Service. Our customer charter outlines outlines our commitments to our customers, in relation to all reasonable correspondence with the Commission. To view full details of the Commission's Customer Charter, please follow the link below:
Link to CER Customer Charter
EnergyCustomers Service
The Commission also provides a complaints resolution service for customers who have an unresolved complaint against their electricity or gas supplier or network operator. For full details of the Commission's energycustomers service, please refer to the energycustomers website.
Full details of the process for bringing a complaint to the energycustomers team is outlined at the following link:
Link to complaints process
Dispute Resolution Service
The Commission also resolves disputes in relation to network connections. The following link provides details on this service:
Link to disputes process
Licensing
The Commission licences energy undertakings in the electricity and natural gas markets. To view the CER's guidelines in relation to licensing, please follow the link below:
Link to licensing process
For further information on Freedom of Information, please contact the FOI Officer at the Commission - CER, the Exchange, Belgard Square North, Tallaght, Dublin 24.
For further information on the Commissions duties and functions as well as the procedures and guidelines outlined above in relation to discharging of our functions, please contact the CER's Information Service - info@cer.ie.
Data Protection
Data protection is about your fundamental right to privacy. You can access and correct data about yourself. Those who keep data about you have to comply with data protection principles. This site address below gives information on individuals' rights and on organisations' responsibilities. It also gives you guidance on how the rights and principles apply in different practical situations like for example in the workplace or the use of CCTV.
Visit the Data Protection website - www.dataprotection.ie