About us

The Utility Regulator is the independent non-ministerial government department responsible for regulating Northern Ireland’s electricity, gas, water and sewerage industries, to promote the short and long-term interests of consumers.

We are not a policy-making department of Government, but we make sure that the energy and water utility industries in Northern Ireland are regulated and developed within ministerial policy as set out in our statutory duties.

We are governed by a Board of Directors and are accountable to the Northern Ireland Assembly through financial and annual reporting obligations.

We have the following key functional areas: Networks, Wholesale, Retail and Consumer Protection and Corporate Affairs.

We are based at Queens House in the centre of Belfast. The Chief Executive, John French, leads a management team of directors representing each of the key functional areas in the organisation: Networks (Tanya Hedley), Wholesale (Colin Broomfield), Retail and Consumer Protection (Kevin Shiels) and Corporate Affairs (Donald Henry). The staff team includes economists, engineers, accountants, utility specialists, legal advisors and administration professionals.