Energy (all)

Recent Articles

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  20.03.2023

  Europe

  Out with the old, in with the new? Con­sid­er­a­tions for pat­entees in opt­ing out of the Uni­fied Pat­ent Court

  So far in this series of blog posts, we began with an article that highlighted some of the key changes between the current European system of patent prosecution and enforcement and the new Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPC), set to become operational from 1 June 2023.  In part two, we considered the interesting procedural features of the UPC and how they might influence a patentee’s decision to opt in or out of the regime.In this part three, we discuss some of the practical and strategic considerations that patentees should weigh up when deciding whether to opt out of the...

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  17.03.2023

  EU

  Mer­ger con­trol re­view be­low fil­ing thresholds – the ECJ Tower­cast judg­ment adds one more ar­row to the quiver

  On 16 March 2023, the ECJ decided that a M&A transaction, which was not subject to ex-ante EU merger control, can be reviewed – from an ex post perspective – as to whether the acquirer (through the acquisition) abused its dominant position within the meaning of Article 102 TFEU (prohibition of the abuse of a dominant position). This allows national competition authorities to apply Art. 102 TFEU to non-notifiable mergers. The judgment therefore provides competition authorities in the EU with a significant additional tool for their scrutiny of transactions, which are not reportable...

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  17.03.2023

  Middle East

  Elec­tric Vehicle Char­ging In­fra­struc­ture in the United Ar­ab Emir­ates and the King­dom of Saudi Ar­a­bia

  With the transport sector accounting for a major part of greenhouse emissions in the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”), the rapid take up of Electric Vehicles (“EVs”) will be vital for the UAE and KSA to meet their carbon neutrality targets by 2050 and 2060 respectively.In the UAE, encouragement to transition to EVs has been enhanced by incentives and measures promoting EVs, such as the Roads and Transport Authority’s (“RTA”) creation of free parking spaces, exemptions from RTA EV registration and renewal fees...

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  16.03.2023

  United Kingdom

  UK Spring Budget 2023: en­ergy and heat sec­tor im­plic­a­tions

  The UK government has made a number of announcements in its Spring Budget.  We have set out below the key measures that will impact the energy and heating sector. The full Spring Budget can be found here.The key announcements of measures in the energy sector are:£20 billion funding for early deployment of Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) projects The UK Government has allocated £20 billion over next two decades towards funding of CCUS (including BECCS) projects. The form that this support will take has not been specified.The Government has restated its support of the preferred...

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  14.03.2023

  England and Wales

  Oil & Gas: Time-bars for re­claim­ing ad­vance pay­ments

  In Anron Bunkering DMCC v Glencore Energy UK Ltd [2023] EWHC 295 the Commercial Court dismissed an unjust enrichment claim, relating to the sale of gasoline, on the basis that it was time-barred. In reaching this conclusion, the Commercial Court indicated that termination of the underlying contract may not be a necessary ingredient in establishing unjust enrichment. Also, the period relevant to the time-bar for an unjust enrichment claim may begin to run at a date different to termination.FactsOn 15 July 2015, Glencore Energy UK Ltd (‘Glencore’) and Anron Bunkering DMCC (‘Anron’)...

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  10.03.2023

  United Kingdom

  What to do about Pre­Pay­ment Meters: Reg­u­lat­or calls for evid­ence

  Introduction On 21 February 2023, Ofgem published a call for evidence which seeks views on the use of prepayment metering (“PPM”). This call for evidence comes at a time of wider investigation into potential breaches by suppliers of their electricity supply licence conditions with respect to PPMs.Suppliers’ Obligations on PPMCircumstances in which a PPM can be installedStandard Licence Conditions (“SLC”) 27 and 28 stipulate PPMs should only be installed where it is “safe and reasonably practicable”. Ofgem’s guidance on switching a customer to PPM...

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