Under the Act, the Commission and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources are both required to have regard to the need to promote safety and efficiency on the part of natural gas undertakings. It should be noted that the need to promote safety and efficiency on the part of gas undertakings is not an express function to ensure gas safety in its own right. One of the key mechanism though which the Commission currently discharges this role is via the Gas Safety Committee which was established in 2004.
However the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006, commenced by the Minister on the 13th March 2008, gives the Commission the statutory function to:
- Regulate the activities of natural gas undertakings and natural gas installers with respect to safety.
- Promote the safety of natural gas customers and the public generally.
- Establish and implement a natural gas safety regulatory framework.
The implementation of the gas safety provisions of this Act is the key focus of the Commissions Gas Safety team in 2008.