Commission Regulation (EC) No 305/2008 of 2 April 2008 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, minimum requirements and the conditions for mutual recognition for the certification of personnel recovering certain fluorinated greenhouse gases from high-voltage switchgear (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2008-04-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community certification, electrical engineering, greenhouse gas, pollution control measures, professional qualifications

3.4.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 92/17

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 305/2008

of 2 April 2008

establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the
Council, minimum requirements and the conditions for mutual recognition for the certification
of personnel recovering certain fluorinated greenhouse gases from high-voltage switchgear

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(7)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on certain
fluorinated greenhouse gases (1), and in particular Article 5(1)
thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

For the purposes of the requirements of Regulation (EC)
No 842/2006, it is necessary to lay down rules on the
qualification of personnel carrying out activities on
equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse
gases which can potentially cause leakage.

Personnel not yet certified but enrolled in a training
course for the purpose of obtaining a certificate should
be, for a limited time, allowed to undertake activities for
which such certification is required to gain the practical
skills needed for the examination, provided that they are
supervised by certified personnel.

A number of Member States do not currently have quali-
fication or certification systems in place. A limited period
should therefore be allowed for personnel to obtain a
certificate.

the purpose of

administrative
avoiding undue
For
burden,
it should be allowed to build a certification
system on existing qualification schemes provided that
the skills and knowledge covered and the relevant quali-
fication system are equivalent to the minimum standards
envisaged by this Regulation.

Entities manufacturing
voltage
or
switchgear could be designated as evaluation or certifi-
the
cation bodies or both, provided that
relevant requirements.

they fulfil

operating

high

Examination is an effective means of testing the ability of
a candidate to carry out properly the actions which can
directly cause leakage, as well as those that can indirectly
cause leakage.

(1) OJ L 161, 14.6.2006, p. 1.

ensure

Officially designated evaluation and certification bodies
should
the minimum
compliance with
requirements set out
in this Regulation and thereby
contribute to the effective and efficient mutual recog-
nition of certificates throughout the Community.

Information on the certification system issuing certi-
ficates subject to mutual recognition should be notified
to the Commission in the
established by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 308/2008 of 2 April
to Regulation (EC) No
2008 establishing, pursuant
842/2006 of
the
Council, the format for notification of the training and
certification programmes of the Member States (2).

the European Parliament and of

format

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee estab-
by Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No
lished
2037/2000 of
the
Council (3),

the European Parliament and of

(8)

(9)

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Regulation establishes minimum requirements for the certi-
fication of personnel recovering certain fluorinated greenhouse
gases from high-voltage switchgear as well as the conditions for
mutual recognition of certificates issued in accordance with
those requirements.

Article 2

Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation ‘high voltage switchgear’
means switching devices and their combination with associated
control, measuring, protective and regulating equipment, and
assemblies of such devices and equipment with associated inter-
connections, accessories, enclosures and supporting structures,
intended for use in connection with generation, transmission,
distribution and conversion of electric energy at rated voltages
above 1 000 V.

(2) See page 28 of this Official Journal.
(3) OJ L 244, 29.9.2000, p. 1. Regulation as

last amended by
Commission Decision 2007/540/EC (OJ L 198, 31.7.2007, p. 35).

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Official Journal of the European Union

3.4.2008

Article 3

Certification of personnel

Personnel carrying out the activity referred to in Article 1

1.
shall hold a certificate as referred to in Article 4.

4. Where an existing examination based certification system
meets the requirements of Articles 5 and 6 and partially covers
the minimum skills as set out in the Annex, certification bodies
may issue a certificate provided that the applicant passes a
supplementary examination, of the skills and knowledge not
covered by the existing certification, organised by an evaluation
body referred to in Article 6.

2.
Paragraph 1 shall not apply for a maximum period of one
year to personnel enrolled in a training course for the purpose
of obtaining a certificate provided that
the
activity under the supervision of a person holding a certificate.

they carry out

3. Member States may decide that paragraph 1 shall not
apply for a period which shall not exceed the date referred to
in Article 5(4) of Regulation (EC) No 842/2006, to personnel
undertaking the activity provided for in Article 1 of this Regu-
lation before the date referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 842/2006.

Such personnel shall,
for the period referred to in the first
subparagraph, be deemed certified as regards this activity for
the purposes of
the requirements of Regulation (EC) No
842/2006.

Article 4

Issuance of certificates to personnel

1.
A certification body as referred to in Article 5 shall issue a
certificate to personnel who have passed a theoretical and
practical examination organised by an evaluation body as
referred to in Article 6, covering the minimum skills and
knowledge set out in the Annex.

2.

The certificate shall contain at least the following:

(a) the name of the certification body, the full name of the
holder, a certificate number, and the date of expiry if any;

Article 5

Certification body

A certification body shall be provided for by a national
1.
law or regulation, or designated by the competent authority of a
Member State or other entities entitled to do so, as being
allowed to issue certificates
involved in the
activity referred to in Article 1.

to personnel

The certification body shall be impartial
activities.

in carrying out its

The certification body shall establish and apply procedures

2.
for the issuance, suspending and withdrawing of certificates.

The certification body shall maintain records that allow
3.
verifying the status of a certified person. The records shall
demonstrate that the certification process has been effectively
fulfilled. Records shall be kept for a minimum period of five
years.

Article 6

Evaluation body

An evaluation body designated by

1.
competent
authority of a Member State or other entities entitled to do
so, shall organise examinations for the personnel referred to
in Article 1. A certification body as referred to in Article 5
may also qualify as an evaluation body.

the

(b) the activity which the holder of the certificate is entitled to

perform;

The evaluation body shall be impartial
activities.

in carrying out

its

(c) issuing date and issuer’s signature.

3. Where an existing examination-based certification system
covers the minimum skills and knowledge set out in the Annex
and meets the requirements of Articles 5 and 6, but the related
attestation does not contain the elements
laid down in
paragraph 2 of this Article, a certification body referred to in
Article 5 may issue a certificate to the holder of this qualifi-
cation without repeating examination.

2.
Examinations shall be planned and structured in a manner
which ensures that the minimum skills and knowledge set out
in the Annex are covered.

3.
The evaluation body shall adopt reporting procedures and
keep records to enable the documentation of the individual and
overall results of the evaluation.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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The evaluation body shall ensure that examiners assigned
4.
to a test have due knowledge of
the relevant examination
methods and examination documents as well as an appropriate
competence in the field to be examined. It shall also ensure that
the necessary equipment, tools and materials are available for
the practical tests.

Article 8

Conditions for mutual recognition

1. Mutual recognition of certificates issued in other Member
States shall apply to certificates issued in accordance with
Article 4.

Article 7

Notification

By 4 January 2009, Member States

1.
shall notify the
Commission of the names and contact details of certification
bodies for personnel covered by Article 5 and of the titles of
certificates for personnel complying with the requirements of
Article 4, using the format established by Regulation (EC) No
308/2008.

2. Member States shall update the notification submitted
pursuant to paragraph 1, with relevant new information, and
submit it to the Commission without delay.

2. Member States may require holders of certificates issued in
another Member State to provide a translation of the certificate
in another official Community language.

Article 9

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 2 April 2008.

For the Commission

Stavros DIMAS
Member of the Commission

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Official Journal of the European Union

3.4.2008

ANNEX

Minimum requirements as to the skills and knowledge to be covered by the evaluation bodies

The examination referred to in Articles 4(1) and 6(2) shall comprise the following:
(a) a theoretical test with one or more questions testing that skill or knowledge, as indicated in the column ‘Test type’

by (T);

(b) a practical test where the applicant shall perform the corresponding task with the relevant material, tools and

equipment, as indicated in the column ‘Test type’ by (P).

No

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Minimum knowledge and skills

Test type

Basic knowledge of relevant environmental issues (climate change, Kyoto Protocol, Global
Warming Potential), the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 and of the
relevant Regulations implementing provisions of Regulation (EC) No 842/2006

Physical, chemical and environmental characteristics of SF6

Use of SF6 in electric power equipment (insulation, arc quenching)

SF6 quality, according to the relevant industrial standards (1)

Understanding of the design of electric power equipment

Checking the SF6 quality

Recovery of SF6 and SF6 mixtures and purification of SF6

Storage and transportation of SF6

Operation of SF6 recovery equipment

Operation of tight drilling systems, if necessary

Re-use of SF6 and different re-use categories

Working on open SF6 compartments

Neutralising SF6 by-products

Monitoring of SF6 and appropriate data recording obligations under national or Community
legislation, or international agreements

T

T

T

T

T

P

P

T

P

P

T

P

T

T

(1) For instance IEC 60376 and IEC 60480.