S.I. No. 438/2012 - Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Public Service Obligations) (Amendment) Order 2012.
Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in | |||||||
“Iris Oifigiúil” of 13th November, 2012. | |||||||
I, PAT RABBITTE, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 39 of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (No. 23 of 1999) (as adapted by the Communications, Marine and Natural Resources) (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2007 ( S.I. No. 706 of 2007 ), in consideration of general social, economic and environmental factors and following consultation with the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government and having, in accordance with section 39 (10) of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 , given a draft of this Order to the persons listed in column (2) of Schedules 3, 4 and 5, these being the persons upon whom the obligations are to be imposed, hereby order as follows: | |||||||
1. This Order may be cited as the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Public Service Obligations) (Amendment) Order 2012. | |||||||
2. The Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Public Service Obligations) Order 2002 (S.I. 217 of 2002.) is amended— | |||||||
(a) in Article 2(1)— | |||||||
(i) by inserting, in the appropriate places, the following definitions: | |||||||
“ ‘CER’ means the Commission for Energy Regulation;”; | |||||||
“ ‘REFIT 1’ means the 2006 Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff (electricity generation from biomass, hydro and wind) scheme, as referred to in State Aid Decision C (2007) 4317 final reference N571/2006 Ireland;”; | |||||||
“ ‘REFIT 2’ means the 2012 Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff (electricity generation from onshore wind, hydro and biomass landfill gas technologies) scheme, as referred to in State Aid Decision C(2012) 8 final reference SA. 31236 (2011/N) Ireland;”; | |||||||
“ ‘REFIT 3’ means the 2012 Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff (electricity generation from biomass technologies) scheme, as referred to in State Aid Decision C (2011) 7593 final reference SA. 318261 (2011/N) Ireland;”; | |||||||
“ ‘relevant supplier’ means a supplier who has entered into a REFIT power purchase agreement;”; | |||||||
“ ‘single levy period’ means one particular levy period;”, and | |||||||
(ii) by substituting the following definitions for “REFIT Contracts Notification” and “REFIT power purchase agreement”, respectively: | |||||||
“ ‘REFIT Contracts Notification’ means the correspondence referred to in paragraph 1 of EU Commission Decision Reference C(2007) 4317 dated 25 November 2007 relating to a notification to the EU Commission (Reference No. N571/2006-Ireland) pursuant to Article 88 of the Treaty; or the decision referred to in paragraph 1 of EU Commission Decision Reference C (2012)8 final dated 12.01.2011 (sic) relating to a notification to the EU Commission (Reference No. SA.31236 (2011/N) Ireland) pursuant to Article 108 of the Treaty; or the decision referred to in Paragraph 1 of EU Commission Decision C(2011)7593 dated 18.10.2011 relating to a notification to the EU Commission (Reference No. SA. 31861 (2011/N) Ireland) pursuant to Article 108 of the Treaty;”; | |||||||
“ ‘REFIT power purchase agreement’ means a power purchase agreement (entered into as a consequence of REFIT 1, REFIT 2 or REFIT 3) between a generator that has been accepted into REFIT 1, REFIT 2 or REFIT 3 and a supplier;”, | |||||||
(b) by substituting for Article 2(3C) the following: | |||||||
“(3C)(a) For the purposes of Article 8(1)(be) and Article 10(1)(a) ‘additional costs’ includes costs incurred by a supplier in complying with its obligations under Article 6D either before or after the coming into operation of this paragraph and which are not otherwise recovered. | |||||||
(b) Nothing in subparagraph (a) shall entitle a supplier to recover additional costs unless those costs are in accordance with the method for determination of costs provided for in the REFIT Contracts Notification, as applied by CER in any relevant decision on the calculation of REFIT costs and this Order.”, | |||||||
(c) by substituting for Article 4(1G) the following: | |||||||
“(1G) The period of the public service obligations to be imposed pursuant to Article 6D shall commence, in respect of a REFIT power purchase agreement listed in column 2 of Schedule 3, 4 or 5 on— | |||||||
(a) in the case of a generator not registered in the Single Electricity Market pursuant to Regulation 5 of the Single Electricity Market Regulations, on the date on which the supplier purchases output from the plant of the generator which is exported for the purposes of distribution or transmission, or | |||||||
(b) in the case of a generator registered in the Single Electricity Market pursuant to Regulation 5 of the Single Electricity Market Regulations and a supplier registered as the intermediary for that generator, on the date on which the supplier purchases output from the plant of the generator which is exported for the purposes of transmission or distribution, | |||||||
(c) In the case of REFIT 1, the public service obligations to be imposed pursuant to Article 6D shall commence not later than 31 December 2010, unless, in respect of a plant specified in column 5 of Schedule 3, the Minister has notified a later date in writing in writing to— | |||||||
(i) the CER, | |||||||
(ii) the supplier specified at that reference number in column 3, and, | |||||||
(iii) the generator specified at that reference number in column 4. | |||||||
(d) In the case of REFIT 2 and REFIT 3, the public service obligations imposed pursuant to Article 6D shall commence not later than 31 December 2015.”, | |||||||
(d) by substituting for Article 6D the following: | |||||||
“6D.(1) There shall be imposed by the Commission on each supplier specified in column (3) a requirement that pursuant to the REFIT power purchase agreement specified at that reference number, such supplier have available to it and purchase the electricity generated by the generation plant specified at that reference number in column (5), by the generator specified at that reference number in column (4), which electricity shall be generated from the energy source specified at that reference number in column (6) and which electricity is the subject of the REFIT power purchase agreement concerned. | |||||||
(2) The obligation imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not, as respects a supplier referred to in column (3), require that supplier to have available to it and purchase the electricity concerned— | |||||||
(a) for a period in excess of 15 years, or | |||||||
(b) in the case of— | |||||||
(i) REFIT 1, after 31 December 2025, and | |||||||
(ii) REFIT 2 and REFIT 3, after 31 December 2030, or | |||||||
(c) after the termination of the REFIT power purchase agreement concerned by the person specified in column (4) at that reference number, in accordance with the terms of that agreement which shall be in conformity with the REFIT Contracts Notification. | |||||||
(3) A reference in this Article to a column is a reference to a column of the Table in Schedule 3, 4 or 5.”, | |||||||
(e) by substituting for Article 7(4) the following: | |||||||
“(4) In respect of the obligation imposed by Article 6D the PSO Levy imposed shall terminate— | |||||||
(a) in the case of REFIT 1, no later than 31 December 2027, and | |||||||
(b) in the case of REFIT 2 and REFIT 3, no later than 31 December 2030.”, | |||||||
(f) in Article 9— | |||||||
(i) by inserting after paragraph (2H) the following: | |||||||
“(2I) In respect of the obligation imposed by Article 6D in any single levy period, the PSO Levy shall be determined by the CER on the basis of the estimates made by it of the amounts required to meet the costs and expenses specified in Article 8 (1)(be) and any over-recovery or under-recovery of those amounts in that single levy period shall be taken into account in setting the amount of the PSO Levy in respect of the levy period commencing 2 levy periods later.”, and | |||||||
(ii) by substituting for paragraph (3)(ab) the following: | |||||||
“(ab)(i) At least 5 months prior to the commencement of a levy period each relevant supplier shall provide the CER with an estimate of the additional costs, calculated in accordance with the method specified for determination of such costs in the REFIT Contracts Notification as applied by CER in any relevant decision on the calculation of REFIT costs that such supplier estimates it will incur in the next levy period in complying with its obligations under this Order in respect of each REFIT power purchase agreement to which it is a party. | |||||||
(ii) A relevant supplier may only receive payment from the PSO Levy fund in respect of each REFIT PPA to which it is a party in any given levy period when the specific REFIT PPA is specified in column 2 of the Schedule 3, 4 or 5 and when the relevant supplier— | |||||||
(I) has been included in both the PSO levy decision taken by the CER for the specific levy period, and | |||||||
(II) is included in column 3 of Schedule 3, 4 or 5.”, | |||||||
(g) by substituting for Article 19(2) (d)(iii) the following: | |||||||
“(iii) for the onward payment of the PSO Levy to the Transmission System Operator;”, | |||||||
(h) in Schedule 1, by substituting for Part 3 the following: | |||||||
“Renewable, Sustainable or Alternative Energy | |||||||
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Hydro | |||||||
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Landfill Gas | |||||||
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CHP | |||||||
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”, | |||||||
(i) by substituting for Schedule 1A the following: | |||||||
“Schedule 1A | |||||||
Renewable, Sustainable or Alternative Energy | |||||||
AERV | |||||||
| |||||||
”, | |||||||
(j) by substituting for Schedule 1B the following: | |||||||
“Schedule 1B | |||||||
Renewable, Sustainable or Alternative Energy | |||||||
AERVI | |||||||
Part 1 | |||||||
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Part 2 | |||||||
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Part 3 | |||||||
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”, and | |||||||
(k) by substituting for Schedule 3 the following Schedules: | |||||||
“Schedule 3 | |||||||
In this Schedule— | |||||||
‘biomass’ means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries including fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste; | |||||||
‘LFG’ means landfill gas; | |||||||
‘CHP’ means combined heat and power; | |||||||
“small scale wind project” means any wind-powered electricity generating plant with a maximum export capacity of or less than 5 MW which is connected directly to the electricity network and metered independently of any other electricity generating plant; | |||||||
‘large scale wind project’ means an onshore wind project with a maximum export capacity greater than 5 MW which is connected directly to the electricity network and metered independently of any other electricity generating plant; | |||||||
‘hydro’ and ‘hydro project’ means any hydro-powered electricity generating plant with a maximum export capacity of or less than 5 MW which is connected directly to the electricity network and metered independently of any other electricity generating plant. | |||||||
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*trading as Energia | |||||||
** Note that this plant will have a variable biodegradable fuel content, affecting the proportion of its exported electricity eligible for REFIT. This will be estimated ex-ante and will be certified for the purposes of REFIT calculations on an ex-post basis. | |||||||
Schedule 4 | |||||||
In this Schedule— | |||||||
‘biomass’ means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries including fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste; | |||||||
‘LFG’ means landfill gas; | |||||||
‘CHP’ means combined heat and power; | |||||||
‘small scale wind project’ means any wind-powered electricity generating plant with a maximum export capacity of or less than 5 MW which is connected directly to the electricity network and metered independently of any other electricity generating plant; | |||||||
‘large scale wind project’ means an onshore wind project with a maximum export capacity greater than 5 MW which is connected directly to the electricity network and metered independently of any other electricity generating plant; | |||||||
‘hydro’ and ‘hydro project’ means any hydro-powered electricity generating plant with a maximum export capacity of or less than 5 MW which is connected directly to the electricity network and metered independently of any other electricity generating plant; | |||||||
| |||||||
* trading as Energia | |||||||
Schedule 5 | |||||||
In this Schedule— | |||||||
‘AD’ means anaerobic digestion; | |||||||
‘anaerobic digestion’ means the process by which biomass material is broken down by micro-organisms under anaerobic conditions, and where the resulting biogas is used to generate electricity; | |||||||
‘biomass; means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries including fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste; | |||||||
‘CHP’ means combined heat and power (see cogeneration); | |||||||
‘co-firing’ means the combustion of biomass, up to 30% of the stated electricity generation capacity of the plant in any single year, in one of the existing three peat fired power stations operational under state aid clearance. | |||||||
‘cogeneration’ means the simultaneous generation in one process of thermal energy and electrical and/or mechanical energy — for the purposes of REFIT, only Cogeneration meeting the High Efficiency CHP standard will be accepted for support. “High Efficiency CHP” (HECHP) means High Efficiency Cogeneration as described in the 2004 Cogeneration Directive (2004/8/EC); | |||||||
‘HECHP’ means High Efficiency Combined Heat and Power (see cogeneration) | |||||||
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”. | |||||||
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GIVEN under my Official Seal, | |||||||
31 October 2012. | |||||||
PAT RABBITTE, | |||||||
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. | |||||||
EXPLANATORY NOTE | |||||||
(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.) | |||||||
This Order modifies and updates elements of Statutory Instrument 217 of 2002, the principal order, dealing with the public services obligation on electricity consumers. This Order specifically updates the principal order in respect of renewable energy projects in the Alternative Energy Requirement (AER) and Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff (REFIT) schemes. | |||||||
The definition of REFIT Contracts Notification refers to EC State Aid Decision Ref C (2012)/8 final S.A. 31236 (2011/N) dated 12.01.2011. The European Commission State Aid Decision was actually taken 12.01.2012 and the year 2011 referenced by the European Commission in their decision is an error. |