Sharjah 24: His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, issued an Emiri Decree establishing and regulating the Energy Council in the Emirate of Sharjah.
The Decree stipulated that a supreme energy council shall be established in the Emirate, called the “Energy Council”, which shall have legal personality and full capacity to carry out the legal actions necessary to achieve its objectives and exercise its powers, and shall have financial and administrative independence.
The Council’s headquarters shall be in the city of Sharjah, and the Ruler may, by decision, establish branches or offices in the remaining cities and regions of the Emirate.
According to the Decree, the Council aims to achieve the following:
1. Strategic planning for the future of energy and water in the Emirate.
2. Supporting the Emirate's economic growth through diversifying energy sources and providing them efficiently and in sustainable ways.
3. Conserving energy consumption and promoting environmental sustainability.
4. Ensuring secure energy supply across the Emirate.
5. Regulating the rights and duties of energy service providers and enhancing cooperation between them.
6. Enhancing cooperation on energy-related issues between relevant authorities.
The Decree stipulated that the scope of the Council's work shall generally include the following areas:
1. Exploration, production, import, export, storage, transport and distribution of natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas and related services.
2. Production, storage and transport of condensates and crude oil and related services.
3. Generation, import, export, transport and distribution of electricity and related services.
4. Production of electricity from renewable energy sources or cogeneration and related services.
5. Initiatives and programmes for managing demand for consumption in general (Electrical Demand Management).
6. Central cooling.
7. Production, import, export, storage, transport and distribution of water for public consumption.
8. Natural gas storage.
9. Electricity storage.
10. Support solutions such as agriculture with solar energy.
11. Tourism support options with appropriate projects.
12. Support for energy-based industry and trade.
13. Attracting investments to the Emirate by facilitating the provision of energy and water needs.
14. Supporting renewable energy research, green hydrogen, energy storage and electricity demand management systems.
15. Coordinating with universities to offer study programmes in the field of energy and water.
16. Any other fields approved by the Council.
The Decree also stipulated that the Council shall, in order to achieve its objectives, exercise the following powers:
1. Propose and review legislation and policies related to the energy sector, and adopt recommendations to update and develop them, in coordination with the competent authorities.
2. Develop comprehensive strategic plans related to the energy sector in line with the vision of the Emirate.
3. Submit proposals related to financing energy projects in the Emirate.
4. Submit annual reports to the Ruler on the energy status in the Emirate.
5. Collect all data and information related to energy from energy service providers.
6. Approve standards and fees related to energy services in the Emirate.
7. Review international contracts for energy service providers.
8. Represent the Emirate in the energy sector.
9. Approve contracts, agreements and partnerships related to the energy sector.
10. Any other tasks or powers assigned to the Council by the Ruler or the Executive Council.
According to the Decree, an Emiri decree shall be issued to form the Council and its term of membership. The Council shall be managed by a chairperson assisted by a number of members appointed by an Emiri decree. The Council shall have the necessary administrative powers and authorities to manage the Council’s affairs and take the necessary decisions to achieve its objectives. In particular, it shall have the following:
1. Adopt the general policies and strategic plans necessary to achieve the Council’s objectives.
2. Supervise the workflow of the Council in accordance with applicable legislation and regulations, issue administrative decisions and follow up on their implementation.
3. Form permanent and temporary committees and work teams affiliated with the Council and determine their jurisdictions and work system.
4. Approve the draft general budget and final account of the Council and submit them to the Ruler for approval.
5. Any other tasks assigned to it by the Ruler or the Executive Council.
The Council shall have a General Secretariat headed by a Secretary-General appointed by an Emiri Decree who shall be responsible for performing duties before the head. The General Secretariat aims to organise and coordinate the Council’s tasks in a manner that ensures the achievement of its objectives and follows up on the decisions and recommendations issued by it until they are fully implemented.
The Decree also organised the powers of the Secretary-General of the Council as follows:
1. Submit development proposals to improve the performance of the Council’s work to the head to take appropriate action in this regard.
2. Implement the decisions, recommendations and strategic plans approved by the Council and submit periodic reports on them to the head.
3. General supervision of the Council’s departments, activities, committees and bodies and the progress of work therein and submit reports on them to the head.
4. Supervision of the Council’s database.
5. Carrying out the duties of the Council’s rapporteur and organising, preserving and indexing documents and minutes of its meetings.
6. Preparing periodic and final reports on the progress of work in the Council’s departments and their performance and presenting them to the head to take the necessary action in this regard.
7. Managing the performance evaluation system of the Council’s employees and presenting them to the head for approval.
8. Preparing the general budget and final account of the Council and presenting them to the head.
9. Representing the Authority in signing contracts, agreements, memoranda of understanding and partnerships of the Council.
10. Representing the Council before the judiciary and in its relations with government entities and others.
11. Any other competencies assigned by the head.
The decree included the legal provisions related to financial resources, the annual report, the organisational structure, exemption from fees, internal decisions, enforcement and publication.
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