green certificates

Operator’s green Guarantees of Origin auction rules nearing approval

Posted on by admin

DAPEEP, the RES market operator, is working on a third round of revisions for regulations concerning Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin auctions, which it aims to deliver to RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, for approval by the end of this month, energypress sources have informed.

Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin, providing transparency to consumers on the proportion of electricity that suppliers source from renewable generation, are required of all EU member states.

If RAE approves the plan within June, the country’s first auction offering Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin can be expected to be staged by December as, according to existing law, a first auction must be staged within six months of the plan’s approval.

Two rounds of consultation, one involving RAE and market players, the other RAE and DAPEEP, have already been staged as part of the procedure shaping regulations for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin auctions.

A new information system to be prepared by DAPEEP for its Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin will link the operator’s platform with the online system of AIB, the Association of Issuing Bodies. DAPEEP is one of 24 AIB members in Europe authorized to issue Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin.

Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin auctions promise to create new conditions in Greece for the establishment of green electricity tariffs for consumers wishing to support the decarbonization of the country’s energy mix.

GO certificate fee up tenfold in a year, suppliers paying dearly

Posted on by admin

Demand for green-energy Guarantees of Origin, EU certification enabling end consumers, including domestic consumers, to track the origins of electricity they consume, has grown significantly over recent months, leading to a shortage of GO certificates and price rises several times over levels recorded a year earlier.

With the GO deadline for electricity usage in 2022 expiring today, a number of companies have scrambled to cover their basket of green-energy products last year, and needed to spend significantly increased amounts.

Around this time last year, suppliers in Greece could secure green-energy certificates at a price of between 0.30 and 0.55 euros per MWh, but prices have soared tenfold over the past twelve months to levels of between 4 and 6 euros per MWh at present, market sources have informed.

Demand for GO certificates grew considerably around Europe in 2022, leading to a shortage in Greece as a first round of auctions for domestic GOs has yet to take place following the establishment, last summer, of a new trading system for the acquisition of GO certificates in Greece.

The Guarantee of Origin (GO) is the main and only electricity tracking instrument in Europe that gives electricity consumers the power to actively choose sustainable power production over fossil-fuel based electricity and hence send market signals about their demand.

 

Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin auctions in first half

Posted on by admin

Auctions for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin, providing transparency to consumers about the proportion of electricity that suppliers source from renewable generation, a scheme required of all EU member states, are planned to be launched in Greece during the first half of the year.

These auctions promise to create new conditions in Greece for the establishment of green electricity tariffs for consumers wishing to support the decarbonization of the country’s energy mix.

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has put forth, for consultation, Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin regulations proposed by DAPEEP, the RES market operator. This procedure is scheduled to be completed on January 9.

The authority is expected to have approved the regulations for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin auctions by the end of this month, thus establishing a comprehensive framework for the creation of a trading system for “green” certificates in Greece.

RES supporting surcharge now a competitive component of bills

Posted on by admin

The energy ministry is working on a plan to change the status of a RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge included in electricity bills from regulated to competitive by having it incorporated into the pricing policy of suppliers, the objective being to reduce the burden of this surcharge for consumers.

The initiative represents part of the ministry’s wider effort to restructure the RES special account, remunerating renewable energy producers.

The anticipated reduction of the ETMEAR level is expected to be offset by revenues that will be generated by green certificates to be auctioned off by DAPEEP, the RES market operator, a plan taking its cue from a formula adopted in a number of EU member states, including the Netherlands and Poland.

Green certificate revenues could reach as much as 600 million euros per year, energypress sources informed.

Under the new system, suppliers will need to purchase a minimum number of green certificates in proportion with their sales, securing a revenue source for the RES special account.

DAPEEP will no longer need to collect revenues from consumers, instead collecting from suppliers through the new mechanism.

‘Green certificate’ plan on the agenda for 4th bailout review

Posted on by admin

LAGIE, the Electricity Market Operator, is working on details of a new formula for RES special account participation, the objective being to establish a new mechanism to replace a RES-supporting supplier surcharge.

An initial LAGIE plan entailing “green certificate” purchases whose cost would reflect respective retail market shares was presented by Greek authorities as an example and basis for further development in the bailout’s third review.

A solution based on the principle that a green market, as part of the prospective energy exchange – through the use of “green certificate” purchases, as in other countries – would suffice to provide a full solution has already been rejected.

On the contrary, authorities generally believe that a new mechanism is needed if an extraordinary increase of the existing RES-supporting ETMEAR surcharge for consumers is to be avoided.

The new plan being looked at is based on a number of factors. LAGIE would issue green certificates as guarantees of origin, currently issued by RES producers themselves, and then use these certificates to generate funds for the RES special account. Suppliers would each need to purchase a quantity of “green certificates” to be determined by their respective retail market shares. These would be auctioned at the energy exchange. A minimum price would be set for the “green certificates”. Each “green certificate” would represent 1 MW of renewable energy produced.

It is estimated that an amount of approximately 150 million euros per year would be needed to avoid RES special account deficits without increasing the ETMEAR surcharge for consumers. Given this context, a minimum price level of 15 euros per “green certificate” would need to be set. However, such a level is well over price levels for equivalent certificates issued in other countries.

It would be reasonable to question why such a change is needed in the first place, as suppliers would be charged either way. LAGIE authorities have noted that the new system would be compatible with international market regulations, whereas the current system is exclusively applied in Greece.

It remains unknown whether the new system, on the agenda of the bailout’s fourth review negotiations beginning today, could be approved by the country’s lenders.