חוק הגז הפחמימני המעובה, התשפ"א-2020Law on Liquefied Hydrocarbon Gas, 2020 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Law, 2020 (hereinafter - the Law), was passed in second and third reading on 9 December 2020. The Law creates new and comprehensive regulation for the field of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, or household gas) and amends the Gas Law (Safety and Licensing), 1989, which currently applies to both LPG and natural gas, so that it will apply only to natural gas. The Law establishes several provisions that do not change the existing legal situation, including provisions regarding the licensing requirement for gas suppliers and for those engaged in performing gas work - licenses granted by the Administrator at the Ministry of Energy; provisions regarding the obligations of license holders, including reporting obligations of gas suppliers to the Administrator at the Ministry of Energy; the requirement to obtain a permit for certain gas facilities and the requirement to conduct inspections of gas facilities. The Law also regulates, for the first time, the field of gas agents acting on behalf of gas suppliers, and determines that a gas supplier will not operate through an agent unless the Administrator at the Ministry of Energy has permitted it to do so within the framework of the gas supplier's license, according to conditions specified in the Law and additional conditions to be specified in the gas supplier's license. The Law also authorizes the Administrator at the Ministry of Energy to decide that a gas supplier will not be permitted to operate through an agent, under circumstances specified in the Law. In addition, most of the Law's provisions applicable to the gas supplier will also apply to the agent. Furthermore, the Law requires the gas supplier to supervise the activity of the agent acting on its behalf. An additional innovation in the Law compared to the existing situation relates to authorizing the Minister of Energy to establish, in Regulations, with the approval of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, consumer provisions. According to the Law, the Minister will establish standards regarding the level, quality, and standard of the services that a gas supplier will be required to provide to gas consumers. The Regulations in which such standards will be established will be brought for approval by the Economic Affairs Committee by 1 July 2022. For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of the Law, provisions were established regarding criminal enforcement as well as provisions regarding administrative enforcement - imposition of financial sanctions. In this regard, the Law establishes a mechanism of administrative warning, enabling the violator to correct the violation before a financial sanction is imposed. The Law also includes provisions on the powers of Ministry of Energy inspectors, including a provision allowing an inspector to enter a residential place without a court order, due to the risk to human life and property, at the request of the occupant of the place or if the gas facility located there poses an immediate and real danger to a person or property. The Law will enter into force on 1 July 2021, except for part of the reporting obligations of gas suppliers to the Administrator at the Ministry of Energy, which will enter into force on 1 October 2021.

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