BEIS has put forward further updates on the possibility of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit in response to an earlier stakeholder engagement meeting. Among them:

Remit: Registered market participants (MPs), will not need to take any action to trade in GB, as Ofgem will unilaterally recognise  existing registrations. REMIT transaction data related to GB wholesale markets only will no longer be reported to ACER. Instead, there will be a review period post EU Exit, following which data will be reported to Ofgem, which will monitor the market using existing data sources. Ofgem registered MPs who are required to re-register with an EU NRA in order to trade wholesale energy products deliverable in the EU should begin the process now, consistent with ACER’s guidance.

Project TERRE: National Grid ESO is committed to Project TERRE. If there were to be an outcome whereby it cannot participate it will explore if there are any additional system and process arrangements that can be utilised which deliver elements of the functionality of the project.

Capacity Market: In a no deal scenario (and if the draft State Aid (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 are approved by Parliament) the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK will need to approve the grant of State Aid for the Capacity Market.

GDPR: If there is no deal data protection laws will change on 29 March. Organisations with branches, affiliates or a parent company in the EEA, or marketing  in the EEA, have to act. Workforce data as well as customer data must be protected and compliance may be enforced by any of the data protection authorities across EEA states. Guidance can be found on the government site and on the Information Commissioner’s Office’s site . The Information Commissioner also published a myth busting blog on how personal data will flow after Brexit here. More information from [email protected]

Emergency imports: Businesses are concerned about being able to import key components. In the short term government “has secured additional roll-on, roll-off ferry capacity for a small number of critical products”. This “very high threshold” includes items ”essential for the protection of life and limb in the UK, such as medicines and a small number of goods used by Critical National Infrastructure sectors.” BEIS says If you believe you have a critical good, used within a BEIS sector, email:  [email protected]

Carbon emissions: The UK’s participation in the EU ETS will continue until the end of the Implementation Period. In a ‘no deal’ scenario the UK would leave the EU ETS and the government would introduce a Carbon Emissions Tax.  A ‘Carbon Emissions Tax technical note’ was published by HMRC alongside the Budget and provides further detail on how the tax would work. Longer term the government is exploring a range of carbon pricing options that are deliverable from 2021, including continuing to participate in the EU ETS after 2020, a UK ETS linked to an EU ETS, a standalone UK ETS or a carbon tax. The European Commission has stated in its Notice to Stakeholders that, as of the withdrawal date, accounts in the EU Emissions Trading System Union Registry administered by the UK will be inaccessible. Operators wishing to retain access to their allowances after the withdrawal date should open an account in another Member State’s Registry for this purpose, and should consider the amount of time this is likely to require. The risks from loss of registry access should also be considered in relation to any open futures, option or other derivative contracts and hedging positions for any allowances in the registry.

Horizon2020: The government has promised to maintain funding for UK organisations participating in Horizon 2020 projects until 2020. To apply for funding sign up here 

Webinars

The British Library are hosting webinars as a part of a Preparing for Brexit series delivered by BEIS. These are designed to help businesses prepare in the event of leaving the EU on Friday 29 March 2019 without a deal. The topics cover: regulations and standards, digital and data, importing and exporting, business legal requirements and intellectual property. Please see the details and links below.

Regulations and Standards – 10am-11am on 12 March 2019 
https://www.bl.uk/events/webinar-preparing-for-brexit-regulations-and-standards-mar19

Digital and Data – 11am-12pm on 14 March 2019 
https://www.bl.uk/events/webinar-preparing-for-brexit-digital-and-data-mar19

Importing and Exporting – 1:00pm-2:00pm on 18 March 2019 
https://www.bl.uk/events/webinar-preparing-for-brexit-importing-and-exporting-mar19

Business Legal Requirements – 12:00pm – 1:00pm on 19 March 2019 
https://www.bl.uk/events/webinar-preparing-for-brexit-business-legal-requirements-mar19

Intellectual Property – 11:00pm-12:00pm on 20 March 2019  
https://www.bl.uk/events/webinar-preparing-for-brexit-intellectual-property-mar19