PARLIAMENT PASSED A LAW ON LICENCES FOR ELECTRICITY PROJECTS - CONNECTION PRIORITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN THE NETWORK - Filenews 12/3
The Plenary Session of the Parliament approved a proposal for a law amending the legislation on the regulation of the electricity market, introducing new provisions for the extension of licenses for electricity production projects, transparency in the process of connection to the grids and the management of energy production.
The bill was submitted by DISY MPs Kyriakos Hatzigiannis and Nikos Sykas, Famagusta MP Michalis Giakoumis and the President of the Ecologists Stavros Papadouris.
The bill was approved with 21 votes in favour and 13 against, with AKEL MPs and Nicosia MP Irene Charalambidou voting against.
Based on the legislation, the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) will be able to extend the validity of a licence or exemption for the construction of power plants or energy storage facilities, at the request of the investor and with a reasoned decision. A prerequisite is, among other things, that it is established that the applicant has the technical, financial and financial capacity to implement the project and that he has followed the procedure through the Single Window Service.
The extension may be granted for a period of up to one year at a time, with a maximum total limit of five years.
At the same time, an obligation to submit information regarding the application for connection to the network is established when submitting the first extension request, while in subsequent requests a certificate that a connection offer has been issued will be required.
The legislation also introduces obligations for the Distribution System Operator and the Transmission System Operator to publish the order of priority of approved and pending connection requests per substation, both for renewable energy generation projects and storage facilities, enhancing transparency in the process.
At the same time, the connection of projects to the grid will be based on maturity criteria, which will be published by the Ministry of Energy, after consultation with CERA and the system operators, in order to give priority to projects that are ready to operate, as well as to production plants combined with energy storage facilities.
It is also provided that no electrical space will be reserved in the transmission or distribution system if all the required permits and approvals for the project have not been secured.
In addition, arrangements are introduced for electricity production cuts when this is necessary for the safe operation of the system, while it is provided that amendments to the ten-year network development plan will be put to public consultation in advance. At the same time, part of the capacity of the transmission substations will be able to be reserved for renewable energy projects by self-consumers, with criteria to be determined by the Minister of Energy.
During the debate in the Plenary, AKEL MP Costas Costa presented the amendments submitted by his party, noting that they are based on the views of the bodies that will be called upon to implement the legislation. As he said, the aim of the proposals was to avoid problems in the operation of the system and in the process of implementing the projects.
Among other things, he said that one of the amendments provided for the power of CERA to revoke permits in case three years have passed without an application for a building permit having been submitted. Another amendment provided for the cost of greenhouse gas emissions to be taken into account, while it also included a provision to inform consumers about the reasons for cuts in production from renewable energy sources. In addition, he proposed to ensure that the allocation of electrical space in the grid will only be valid for a specified period of time.
AKEL's amendments were rejected with 15 votes in favour, 17 against and 2 abstentions.
CNA
