Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

The European Commission put forward on 11 October 2011 a proposal for a regulation on Guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure (COM(2011)658). The regulation is part of the EU Energy Infrastructure Package which is financially supported by the Connecting Europe Facility (CPE) . Yesterday, on 12 March 2013 , the European Parliament adopted   in first reading in plenary session , which opens for final adoption of the text after approval by the Council.  The regulation aims to ensure the " timely development and interoperability of priority corridors and areas of trans-European energy infrastructure " .  - It establishes criteria for identification the priority corridors and areas which are further defined in Annex I to the Regulation. The categories covered include infrastructures related to electricity, oil, gas and carbon dioxide . The concept of "infrastructure" is defined broadly, but has been refined through negotiations.  -...

The Norwegian Ministry of Oil and Energy announced on 18 February 2013 that it will delay the deployment of smart metering, also called advanced metering system (AMS) for 2 years until 1 January 2019 . Full AMS-deployment delayed until 2019 In the letter, the Ministry describes the process as " huge and demanding " for many actors. Grid companies have facing many challenges of different natures when complying with their new obligations, and the Ministry estimates that they need better time to secure good processes . Therefore the Ministry is officially asking the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the energy regulator, to prepare the necessary amendments to the currently binding Regulations on AMS and replacing the former deadline of 1.1.2017 by the one of 1.1.2019 . Nothing prevents distribution companies to implement the scheme earlier, notes the Ministry. NVE must send its comments and proposals for amendments by 15 March 2013 . More tran...

Det er nå bekreftet at både Statnett og Energi Norge skal publisere hver sin rapport om Advanserte Måle- og Styringssystemer (AMS) / smart grid den 31. mai 2012 . Statnett har oversakelig arbeidet med en utredning av en sentral IKT-løsning for kraftsektoren for å kunne utveksle og lagre data relatert til strømbruk. Dette er blir sentralt for å sikre et sikkert og åpent system og marked for AMS. Dette arbeidet ble gjennomført på oppdrag fra NVE. Energi Norge har fokusert på gjennomføring av vedtat regelverk (jf. tidligere notat ), innenfor det såkalte "Smart Strøm-prosjektet" , en "avklaringsprosjekt om spørsmål knyttet til avregningsforskriften og innføringen av smarte strømmålere". Referanser : "Smart strøm-prosjekter i sluttfasen" , Energi Norge, 16. mai 2012.

The third edition of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM3) will take place in Kondon (UK) on 25-26 April 2012. The conference focuses on transition to clean energy technologies , and related initiatives (best practices, cooperation,etc.). CEM was initiated by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu at the 2009 UNFCCC COP/CMP in Copenhagen , with the idea of gathering ministers responsible for clean energy technologies from the major world economies, as well as ministers from a selected number of smaller countries with leading expertise in the field. The objective pursued by CEM meetings is to " serve as an important platform to advance international collaboration to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies worldwide ."  CEM1 was organised in the US. In 2012, CEM3 gathers 23 leaders from around the globe. The public agenda is available here .  CEM's work focuses mainly on 3 areas and includes related 11 clean energy initiatives : improve energy...

For å unngå forskjellige tolkninger samt juridisk hull må man av og til presisere ordlyden i regelverket. Det er det Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat (NVE) har nå gjort dispensajon fra AMS-kravet. NVE har 16. januar 2012 presisert tolkningen av Forskrift om måling, avregning og sarordnet opptreden ved kraftomsetning og fakturering av nettjenester  (Avregningsforskriften) knyttet til adgang til å gi dispensajon til nettselskapene fra krav til å installere avansert måle- og styringssystem (AMS) . Klargjøringen skjer ved en endring til Avregningsforskriften. Formålet med endringen er å klargjøre at direktoratet kan gi dispensasjon fra installasjon av AMS allerede fra 20. januar 2012 .  Endringen kommer etter at 30 nettselskaper varslet NVE at de kommer til å søke dispensasjon fra kravet, fordi de, før forskriften ble vedtatt i juni 2011, hadde gjort betydelige investeringer i målere som ikke oppfylller de nye funksjonskravene i forskriften. ...

Here is a link to an article I wrote on the regulatory framework adopted in Norway in 2011 for the roll-out of  smart metering and Advanced / Intellingent Metering Systems (AMS/IMS) , as well as associated legal issues: "Norway adopts smart metering regulation" by C. Banet, published 27.10.2011. Picture: (c) Catherine Banet

"NVE har vedtatt nye bestemmelser om avanserte måle- og styringssystem (AMS) i måling og avregningsforskriften . Innen 1. januar 2017 skal strømkunder i Norge ha tatt i bruk AMS ." " AMS gjør at strømkundene får bedre informasjon om kraftforbruket sitt, mer nøyaktig avregning og mulight for automatisk styring av forbruker, og vil kunne bidra til en bedre fordeling av strømforbruket og et mer fleksibelt kraftmarked. " " Nettselskapene har ansvar for registrering og innsamling av alle måleverdier fra strømkundene. De nye bestemmelsene om AMS stiller som krav at kraftleverandører skal gis tilgang til å utveksle informasjon med alle strømkundene gjennom AMS-utstyret som skal installeres. Dette legger forholdene til rette for en rekke nye tjenester ... " " Bestemmelsene om AMS trer i hovedsak i kraft 1. januar 2017 ." References : - NVE websider om AMS ; - Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, press release Nr. 64/11 , 01.07.2011.

Along December 2010 and a few weeks before the official visit of President Hu Jintao to the United States on 19 January , clean energy technologies have been raised several times as a core trade issue between the two countries . The most dramatic event was the complaint made by the U.S. government against China's subsidies to wind energy technologies. The most positive aspects of the bilateral trade negotiations relates to smart grid technologies. Wind Power Equipments: The United States contests the legality of China's subsidies to wind energy technologies under WTO rules On 22 December, the United States came with a new claim against China's subidy policy in favour of its national wind energy industry . The U.S. government accuses China of subsidising manufacturers of wind turbines equipments and related components in a manner that goes against WTO rules . Chinese manufaturers would have benefited from government grants since 2008 under the national Special Fund for Wind ...

The French Energy Regulator ( Commission de Regulation de l'Energie , CRE) has made public today the first pillars of its strategy on smart grids. It intends to coordinate an institutional think tank on smart grids , organise public thematic debates (e.g., on electric vehicles, smart home, economic models for smart grids, supergrids, micro-grids, application to insulary areas), develop its publications , report of the international experiences , and concentrate the future national debates around a website dedicated to the the topic: http://www.smartgrids-cre.fr/ The first public event on smart grid organised by the French regulator was held in January 2010 in the form of a symposium and was followed by the publication also today of a book " L'Electricité du futur: un défi mondial " (Economica, 2010). The press file released today by CRE introduces the main elements of the smart grid concept.

Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat (NVE) leverte den 20. januar 2010 til Olje og Energidepartementet (OED) sin rapport om den samlede nettreguleringen. Rapporten lastes ned her . Jeg kommer straks med en sammendrag av dokumentet.

For those not familiar with the Superbowl, one of the side entertainment to the sport event is the competition for getting the best TV-ad (at the most dramatic moment of course). And it was with interest that we could watch this year a General Electric advertisement featuring smart grid technologies (on the song "If I only had a brain" from the Wizard of Oz). Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1XqLPa9BoA I will shortly comment on some aspects of the smart grid in a latter message. But to introduce the theme, "smart grid" technologies aim, among other things, to manage energy more efficienctly in particular at the consumption level, increase energy storage capacity (such as in the transport sector), work on transmission and distribution systems, develop large-scale integration of renewable energy.