How a renewable energy project works in operator mode
Obtaining the licence is only the first step for a renewable energy project: the operator's daily activity is governed by the norms of the Georgian Law on Electricity and Gas Supply that define the conditions of generation, the rights and obligations of the producer, and the rules of access to the network. Under Article 32, the construction, maintenance, operation and connection of electricity generation objects and related devices must comply with Georgian legislation and with the technical standards, norms and other mandatory conditions established by the transmission and/or distribution network rules — including requirements related to the environment, public safety and the protection of property. Generation itself, apart from the cases provided by paragraph 3 of Article 11 of the law, is subject to mandatory licensing.
Rights of the producer of electricity
Article 33 empowers the producer to generate electricity using the object accepted into operation and the energy source indicated in the licence conditions — in compliance with the respective licence, the technical characteristics established by Georgian legislation and environmental protection requirements. The indication of the renewable source in the licence conditions is particularly significant, because it is precisely that indication which determines the legal regime of the object: a wind, solar or hydro facility operates within the framework fixed for it.
The producer is also entitled to conclude contracts on the purchase and sale of electricity in compliance with the conditions established by the law and the electricity market rules; to conclude contracts on balancing and the provision of ancillary services; to have access to the transmission and/or distribution system in accordance with the conditions established by the law, the network rules and other legislation; and to enjoy other rights provided by Georgian legislation. This means that the operator of a renewable facility chooses the structure of its own sales within the limits of the market rules.
Obligations of the producer
Article 34 sets out the operator's duties. The producer is obliged to: fulfil the requirements and conditions established by the law and the respective licence; have a metering device that makes it possible to account for the electricity supplied to the respective network; satisfy the requirements established by the transmission and distribution network rules; carry out the operational instructions issued by the transmission and/or distribution system operator — including instructions related to dispatching, balancing, emergency conditions in the system and the provision of ancillary services; and fulfil energy efficiency and environmental requirements.
When participating in the electricity market, the producer must comply with the rules established by regulatory acts on competition, including the prohibition of unjustified restriction of capacity and unjustified reduction of electricity generation. The producer must also maintain the proper operational condition of the generation objects and ensure their continuous operational readiness and safe operation — an obligation subject to supervisory inspection; to transmit to the operators, on request, the data and information necessary for the operation and management of the power system; to ensure the operators' free access to those devices of the generation object which are used for reserve purposes, for the provision of ancillary services and for the transportation of electricity flows; to take into account, in the manner established by the network rules, the operator's recommendations on changing the installations and equipment of the object; and to maintain and improve those installations which are also used for transmission or distribution — this obligation, too, is subject to supervisory inspection.
Data storage requirements for larger objects
A special requirement applies to producers operating an object with a nominal capacity of 100 kilowatts or more: they must store, and — in accordance with the international obligations assumed by Georgia — make available to the respective state bodies, the system operator and competent international bodies the hourly data of the generation object, which are necessary for verifying dispatching decisions and the actions of participants in organized markets, interconnector auctions and bilateral contracts markets, including price offers. These data must cover, together with other information, data on the available capacity and guaranteed reserves of the generation facility, including price offers and the allocation of guaranteed reserves at the level of each generation object.
Energy efficiency programme and report
Every producer is obliged to prepare and publish, in an appropriate form, a programme of measures for improving energy efficiency and an annual report on the results of those measures. Where the Government of Georgia considers it necessary, it is authorized to establish, for individual technologies, a minimum efficiency level to be achieved in the construction of new generation objects or the reconstruction of existing ones. The Commission, for its part, supervises the application of the principles of fair competition and, where necessary, may require individual producers and other energy enterprises to take special measures to comply with those principles. For small capacity power plants, simplified requirements may be defined by legal acts.
Network access and dispatching priority
Under Article 57, the transmission system operator ensures, in compliance with the requirements of the transmission network rules, non-discriminatory and unlimited access of network users to the transmission system; the charge for access is accounted for and set by the Commission according to the respective methodology. The same service must be offered to different users on equal contractual terms — through the use of a harmonized transmission services contract and/or in accordance with the network rules. The conclusion of long-term contracts is not prevented, provided such contracts comply with the competition rules established by the legislation of Georgia and of the Energy Community.
The transmission system operator publishes on its website the procedure, rules and conditions of access, including the requirements established by the network rules and the charges determined by the Commission, as well as the technical and quantitative data necessary for access and use, which must be regularly updated. In cases provided by a legal act of the Commission, services related to access may be provided to the network user only after the submission of an appropriate financial guarantee — the guarantee must be envisaged by the standard terms of the contract developed in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 51 of the law, must be non-discriminatory, transparent and proportionate, and must not create an unjustified barrier to market entry. For renewables, the final norm of Article 57 is of particular importance: in dispatching, the operator is authorized, in the procedure established by Georgian legislation, to give priority to objects that generate energy from renewable sources, or to other promoted production objects.