Land Rights
Legal permissions/consents granted by a landowner to allow a Statutory Undertaker to access and conduct works on their apparatus.
Deed of Easement
Legal rights granted to a person or organisation over land they do not own. Easements are permanent and are registered to the land, so they “run with the land” and persist through transfers of ownership.
Transfer
A transfer gives ownership of a Freehold title (or part of one) to another person or organisation.
Lease
A lease gives a person or organisation the right to occupy a title (or part of one) for a specified term of years.
Wayleave
A specialised licence between a landowner and another party. These usually run for a specific term of years and are more easily removable than Easements, which is why they are generally used for more easily accessible apparatus (such as overhead lines).
Heads of Terms
A document that sets out the intended terms of a contract or agreement, including any potential premiums for payment. Whilst not legally binding this establishes the framework for the final agreement in advance of a formal negotiation.
Licence
A permission given by the Owner of Land to another User to enter on to or conduct some form of works on the Land. These are suitable for less formal arrangements which do not require an Easement or Wayleave, but are revokable by the Landowner.
Statutory Undertaker
A regulated body who is licenced to provide a utility supply under the terms of their industry-specific Act (Electricity Act 1989, Gas Act 1986 etc.)
Apparatus
Utility equipment including pipelines, cables, pressure reducing installations (PRI), substations etc.
Statutory Obligations
Conditions with which Statutory Undertakers must comply under the terms of their distribution licences. These are set out in the industry-specific Acts of Parliament (Gas Act 1986, Electricity Act 1989 etc.) and are enforced by Ofgem.
Statutory Rights/Powers
Rights or powers which Statutory Undertakers benefit from as set out in their utility’s Act (Electricity Act 1989 etc.). These give them the ability to perform some of their activities without consent – for example, installing apparatus within a publicly-maintained highway
IGT
Independent Gas Transporter. A Statutory Undertaker in the Gas Industry.
IDNO
Independent Distribution Network Operator. A Statutory Undertaker in the Electricity Industry.
DNO
Distribution Network Operator. Successors to the Electricity Boards and later Regional Electricity Companies, a DNO operates the electricity transmission in a specific geographical area.
ECNO
Electronic Communications Network Operator. A Statutory Undertaker in the Communications Industry, regulated by Ofcom. The Electronic Communications Code of Practice empowers ECNOs and Ofcom maintains a register of “Operators”.
Land Registry
A government organisation which registers the ownership of land and property in England and Wales and maintains a database of ownership and agreements affecting the land.
Retained Land
Where a landowner Transfers part of their title, the Retained Land is the part of their title which stays in their ownership.
Right of Way
A right to cross land which you do not own.
Substation
A piece of electricity apparatus which reduces the voltage of an electricity supply from HV (distribution) to LV (end supply).
Reserved Rights
Rights in a Deed which are granted to the Owner of Land subject to a Deed. These most commonly allow a Landowner selling Land to retain a right of access over the Land sold.
Landlord
A person who has granted a lease. Usually this is the owner of a Freehold title out of which the lease is granted.
Tenant
A person who has obtained a lease.
Third Party
A landowner or otherwise interested party who does not directly benefit from the utility network being installed.
EV Charger
Electric Vehicle Charger.
AutoCAD
Software used to open and manipulate Computer Aided Design (CAD) files and produce accurate legal plans.
CILEX
Chartered Institute of Legal Executives. A professional body offering qualifications, certification and advice for professional development to legal professionals.
Panel of Solicitors
An approved list of solicitor firms maintained by most Statutory Undertakers. Solicitor firms on the panel are authorised to act for the Statutory Undertaker.
EHV
Extra High Voltage. Describes electrical apparatus operating above 33,000 Volts (33kV). Generally used for national transmission.
HV
High Voltage. Describes electrical apparatus operating between 11,000 -33,000 (11kV – 33kV). Generally used for regional distribution or supplying industry with high power demand.
LV
Low Voltage. Describes electrical apparatus operating between 230 – 11,000 Volts (230V - 11kV). Generally used for residential and small business supplies.
Cables
Catch-all term for wires, earthing, monitoring equipment and cladding used to carry electricity.
Access
Used to describe the route taken by a Statutory Undertaker over private land to reach the apparatus.
Incorporated Rights
A framework which allows legal rights to be granted to an IDNO and a DNO simultaneously for a shared substation, within a single legal agreement.
Tripartite
An agreement which includes three parties. Commonly seen in the Incorporated Rights process (landowner, IDNO & DNO), and agreements involving a third party (Stat. Undertaker, landowner, third party). Some statutory undertakers (such as Cadent Gas) require the company installing the apparatus to join the legal agreement as a Covenantor (Stat. Undertaker, Landowner, Covenantor).
Unregistered Land
Land which has not undergone First Registration with the Land Registry. NB: This does not mean the land is not owned, just that the Land Registry does not hold the records of ownership.
Indemnity Policy
An insurance policy intended to protect against a particular risk. Common risks include rights required over unregistered land, references to old agreements on title documents which are no longer available for investigation and the presence of mining permissions on a site.
Grantor
A party of a legal agreement granting rights. For Easements, there is only a Grantor. For Transfers and Leases, a Grantor describes someone who is joining only to grant easement or access rights and is not involved with the parcel of land which is being transferred or leased.
KPI
Key Performance Indicator. A measurement of a business’s success in dealing with targets within acceptable criteria (timescales, costs etc.).
Switch room
Room containing various equipment (switchgear) belonging to an IDNO or DNO, that is important for controlling/maintaining/distributing electrical supply within a building or across a site.
Primary substation
A large substation site which lowers electrical voltage from EHV (long-distance transmission) to HV(distribution).
Services
Describes apparatus dedicated to the supply of a single property or commercial unit.
Stakeholder
A party who has an interest in the supply of utilities. Can describe anyone involved in the delivery of utilities such as the company installing, the end user, their agent and so on.
Covenantor
A party to a legal agreement who provides commitments, generally in relation to the quality of works undertaken on site.