6Declaration of monopoly service

6 Declaration of monopoly service

(1)  By notice published in the Gazette, the Minister may declare a service supplied by a prescribed body to be a non-prescribed monopoly service, or a prescribed monopoly service, if –

(a) the Minister is satisfied that it is a service for which –

(i) there are no other suppliers to provide competition in the relevant market; and

(ii) there is no contestable market by potential suppliers in the short term; and

(b) the Portfolio Minister has agreed to the making of the declaration.

(2)  Despite subsection (1) , the Minister may not declare a service to be a prescribed monopoly service under that subsection unless the service is provided by a monopoly provider specified in Schedule 1 .

(3)  [Section 6 Subsection (3) amended by No. 13 of 2015, s. 5, Applied:01 Jul 2015] A declaration under subsection (1) may specify the day by which the Minister is to require the Regulator to conduct his or her first investigation under section 24(2) or (3) into the pricing policies of a monopoly provider in respect of the service which is the subject of the declaration.

(4)  Before making a declaration under subsection (1) in respect of a service supplied by one or more Local Government Bodies, the Minister is to consult with such of those Local Government Bodies as the Minister considers appropriate.

(5)  By notice published in the Gazette, the Minister may amend or revoke a declaration made under subsection (1) if the Portfolio Minister of the prescribed body which is the subject of the declaration has agreed to it.

(6)  A notice under this section is not a statutory rule.