When regulating electricity utilities, URA is mandated to ensure that these entities provide a service that is safe, reliable, and affordable to consumers.
Safety is defined as the risk of;
- serious injury or death to any individual;
- serious environmental pollution; or
- serious damage to critical infrastructure.
The URA can undertake a safety inspection to identify any safety issues reported to it by the public or identified by a URA staff.
In occasions where the electricity service imposes serious safety issues, the URA can issue a Safety Order directing the utility or person responsible to pursue corrective measures defined in the Order. Noncompliance with a Safety Order is considered an offense under the URA Act.
The Authority issues Safety Standards associated with the delivery of electric utility services.
Reliability is the ability of a utility to ensure electricity service continuity with power quality within the corresponding legal framework and regulatory requirements set out in applicable standards issued by the URA that take into consideration good industrial practices.
Affordability is ensuring that tariffs and charges determined by the URA for electricity utilities, customer connections, and other utility-related services directly linked to its responsibilities as an electricity utility are fair to customers and sufficient to sustain the utility service.
Access – This is the ability of a person to access electricity or water network if available. This means a customer obtaining a meter connection or an extension to an operator’s electricity or water network.
The Authority goes about ensuring access to electricity or water network by working closely with utilities and customers to review meter connection and network extension charges and in approving an operator’s capital investment plan which includes an operator’s submission of areas to be given access to electricity or water.