The legal contour of a hydroelectric project
The realization of a hydroelectric project depends on those norms of the Law on Energy which regulate the commissioning of the object, the planning of its network integration, and access to the transmission system. This page explains these four components: the trial run, the ten-year development plan, the third-party access regime, and the distribution network development plan.
Commissioning — the trial run
An undertaking that has built a generation object or reconstructed it — including increasing its capacity — and connected it to the transmission or distribution network in accordance with the legislation and technical requirements, must apply to the operator of the system to which the object is connected for a trial run and/or complex testing for commissioning. Representatives of the transmission system operator participate in the process.
The operators conduct the trial run and/or complex testing and give consent to commissioning according to the network rules. Where the rules do not provide otherwise, the system operator must announce consent or refusal within no more than 90 calendar days from the trial run. During this period the owning undertaking is not obliged to obtain a generation licence, while the purchase and sale of the electricity generated is regulated by the market rules. Generation by an object accepted into operation is permitted only on the basis of a licence, save for the cases provided by law, where a document confirming commissioning issued by the authorized body suffices.
Planning of network integration
The placement of a hydroelectric object in the network is decided by ten-year planning: the transmission system operator annually elaborates the ten-year transmission network development plan for the next 10 calendar years. The plan contains information on demand and supply, on the main infrastructure to be built or improved over the next 10 years, on decided investments and those to be implemented over the next 3 years, and — most important for hydro projects — information on the integration into the network of new generation objects, including renewable energy sources.
The procedural deadlines are also clear: after consultations with stakeholders, the draft plan is submitted to the ministry and the commission no later than 1 October of the relevant year. The commission examines the draft, checks whether it covers all investment needs, and submits its remarks to the ministry within 2 months of receipt. The ministry, with the government's consent, ensures approval of the plan no later than the end of the year. For a hydro developer this plan is precisely the document that determines on which horizon his object will have network capacity.