Licence Exemptions

Existing laws do not establish criteria for distinguishing between those requiring to be licensed and those who can be exempted from the need to be licensed. Therefore, when a person wishes to undertake a regulated activity (as defined in the relevant Sector laws) then they must apply to the Bureau to be either licensed or exempted from licence. Any decision by the Bureau to issue or refuse to issue an exemption is subject to the approval of the Executive Council.

Due to the existence of large-scale generation under the control of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the Bureau was required to issue an Exemption Order to address in particular this situation. The Order came into effect on 1 February 1999 and exempts from licensing anyone carrying out a regulated activity on a small scale, or where the activity is carried out in such a way that it does not have an effect on the main interconnected water and electricity networks. The Order also explicitly exempts ADNOC from the requirement to be licensed. This Order was modified with the interconnection of the ADNOC and TRANSCO electricity transmission systems in 2001. At the same time a second Exemption Order was issued specifically to TAKREER (the ADNOC oil refining company).

Finally in 2006 Order No.1 was modified for a second time, with minor changes and an extension in time.