Special Orders

The Electricity Regulation Act, 1999, gives the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) legal powers to grant special orders for the compulsory acquisition of land in certain circumstances. These special orders may be required to build large electricity infrastructure. Relevant parties can apply to the CRU for a special order under Section 47.

How to apply for a special order under Section 47

To apply, submit an application form and supporting documentation to the CRU for review and evaluation.

You can do this online through the following link: Section 47 Application Form

The online application form should be completed with reliance on the accompanying guidance note available on the CRU website: “Guidance Note on Special Order applications under Section 47 of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999”. Please ensure the form is fully completed and that all required documentation has been uploaded before submittal. Incomplete applications will not be accepted for assessment.

To fill out the online application form, you must have registered a profile on the CRU’s consultation portal. This can be done here. When registering on the CRU Consultation Portal, it is recommended you avoid using personal or individual work email addresses.

Applications are tied to the email used during registration. It is not possible to change that email address after registration. If you can no longer access the email account you registered with, you will lose access to the application (and associated correspondence). It is strongly recommended you use a shared or generic organisational mailbox (e.g., s47.applications@company.ie).

Application Process

For each application received, the CRU will review and consider the following:

• if the applicant is eligible to apply for a special order,
• the precise nature and extent of the special order sought,
• the purpose for which the special order is sought (i.e. what the special order will be used for),
• necessary permissions or consents relevant to the project, and
• the rationale for the appropriateness of the special order being sought.

The CRU will also notify the public, and those likely to be impacted by the special order, that an application has been received and how to review the application and submit any comments or observations.

Any application received will be processed as quickly as possible. The amount of time required will depend on the size and scale of the application and the extent of commentary received by the CRU. Progress updates will be provided on our website.

The CRU will not comment on the details of the review until a decision has been made to grant, or not, the special order sought.

The full application process is set out in the Guidance document.

Public Hearings

The CRU will consider all relevant matters raised and may hold a public hearing on the application to give individuals or groups a further opportunity to comment. If a public hearing is held, it may be run by an independent Inspector on behalf of the CRU. When the hearing is complete, the Inspector will prepare a report for the Commission. The Commission will then make a decision on whether or not to grant the special order to the applicant.

Contact

If you have any queries about applying for a special order under Section 47, contact the CRU at section47@cru.ie.