To ask the Minister for the Economy (i) whether the Islandmagee Gas Storage Project requires a Consent to Construct from the Utility Regulator or any other regulatory body; (ii) whether Islandmagee Energy Limited, or any associated person or company, has applied for a Consent to Construct the gas storage caverns; and (ii) whether a Consent to Construct has been issued to Islandmagee Energy Limited or any associated person or company.

Under Article 37 of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (‘the Gas Order’), any person who executes works for construction of a gas storage facility requires a consent from the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (‘the Utility Regulator’). The Islandmagee Gas Storage Project requires this consent in so far as it meets the definition of “gas storage facility” under Article 3(1) and Article 37(14) of the Gas Order.

An application by Islandmagee Energy Limited (‘IMEL’) for leave to apply for judicial review of a view expressed by the Utility Regulator - that the gas storage facility IMEL proposes to build at Islandmagee is of a type to which Article 37 applies – has been listed for “rolled-up” hearing before the High Court, Belfast, on 28 June 2024.

No.

No.