EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/873

(2004/C 78 E/0926)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3891/03

by Patricia McKenna (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(10 December 2003)

Subject: Renewable energy in Ireland

On 3 December, the Irish Commission for Energy Regulation announced a decision to block access to the grid for wind energy beyond a capacity of 800 MW (for the whole island), based on advice from ESB National Grid. The report on which this advice is based states that 2000 MW can be accommodated on the grid with minimal constraints (1). According to the report's authors, those constraints could be largely or wholly eliminated through appropriate grid development, and revised network operating strategies. The Irish Government has not transposed the Directive 2001/77/EC (2) on Electricity from Renewable Sources, despite the 27 October deadline, and its officials seem to take the view that transposition is not necessary. However, the actions of the Regulator would seem to conflict with Article 7 of that Directive, which bestows considerable grid access and dispatch rights on renewable energy.

Will the Commission now oblige Ireland to transpose that Directive, and ensure that all measures are taken to ensure grid access, as required by Article 7, where any restriction is for strictly safety and reliability reasons and not lack of necessary investment or technical and procedural modifications?

Surely these actions by ESB National Grid are equivalent to those that arose in previous Commission decisions (3), in that ESB is making such decisions while it is simultaneously the owner and current operator of the network, and a player in the market, including the renewable energy market? There is also growing evidence of cross-subsidisation by ESB, for example in its own Regulatory Accounts. Will the Commission now reconsider its approach to these competition issues in the Irish electricity market, as expressed in its answer to my questions P-2460/03 (4) and E-2457/03 (5)?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(20 January 2004)

The Directive 2001/77/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 27 September 2001 on the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market (6), in its Article 7, bestows considerable grid access and dispatch rights on electricity from renewable energy as mentioned in the letter of the Honourable Member.

Under this Article, Member States shall put into place a legal framework or require transmission system operators and distribution systems operators to set up and publish their standard rules relating to the cost-bearing of technical adaptations as grid reinforcements, which are necessary in order to integrate new producers feeding electricity produced from renewable energy sources into the interconnected grid.

Sharing of costs of grid reinforcement shall be regulated by a legal framework with mechanisms based on objective, transparent and non-discrimination criteria against electricity from renewable energy sources.

The Commission is carefully analysing the laws, regulations and administrative provisions which will be brought into force by Member States to comply with Directive 2001/77/EC. In the case of Ireland, the Commission started an infringement procedure on 25th November 2003 for non communication of the national execution measures under Directive 2001/77/EC.

In the light of the transposition, the Commission will ensure that all measures are taken to ensure a fair grid access as required in Article 7.

Regarding the State Aid aspects, the Commission takes the same view as in the previous Commission answers to questions P-2460/03 and E-2457/03.

(1) The impacts of increased levels of wind penetration on the electricity systems of ROI and NI', final report, Garrad Hassan, ESBI, UCC for CER and OFREG-NI, 11-02-2003, page 85; (link).

(2) OJ L 283, 27.10.2001, p. 33.

(3) B& I Line/Sealink decision [1992] 5 CMLR 255 and subsequent Stena/Sea Containers decision 94/19/EC, 21/12/93.

(4) See page 407.

(5) OJ C 70 E, 20.3.2004.

(6) OJ L 283, 27.10.2001.