Key Benefits:
On November 5, 2004, the Energy Regulatory Commission was seized by the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry and by the Minister Delegate to Industry of a draft Order amending the terms and conditions for the purchase of electricity produced by cogeneration facilities and facilities using renewable energy or household waste.
The main objective of this Order is to make consistent with the Act of 9 August 2004 with the tariff orders setting the terms of purchase for each of these sectors. Section 33 of this Act provides that facilities under the obligation to purchase under section 10 or 50 of the Act of 10 February 2000 shall only be eligible for one purchase bond contract. However, the current tariff orders allow a facility with a first purchase contract prior to the date of publication of the Act of 10 February 2000 to benefit, at the end of the Act, from a second purchase contract to the rates set out in Schedule II of the said orders.
The draft decree removes this possibility. It provides that the rates in Schedule II are applicable only for facilities put into service prior to the date of publication of the proposed Order reviewed and not subject to a purchase obligation contract under section 10 or 50 of the Act of 10 February 2000. However, a producer whose installation, in service, has never benefited from the obligation to purchase, must be entitled, upon request, to a purchase contract at the rates of Schedule II, regardless of its date of commissioning.
In addition, the draft decision provides for wind facilities to extend the period between the complete purchase contract application by a producer from two to three years and the commissioning of the plant. In addition, this project envisages, for installations using the radiative energy of the sun, increasing the energy ceiling that could be purchased at the rates of Schedule I of the corresponding tariff order and removing, by building type, the ceiling of the peak power of an installation that can benefit from these rates. These changes are justified in terms of technical realities (network linking) and technology (improvement of conversion returns) observed in recent years on these sectors.
In conclusion, the draft decision reviewed does not raise any objection from the REB. However, the applicability of the rates in Schedule II must be extended to all facilities, in service, having never benefited from the obligation to purchase, regardless of their commission date.
Done in Paris, December 2, 2004.
For the Energy Control Board:
The president,
J. Syrota
