Electricity Bill Comparison Tools: A US Example

Today I would like to share with you an article sent by the team of Compare Electricity Rates. The latter aims to facilitate comparison between electricity providers in the United States, as well as help customers understand their electricity bill. It provide two comparative toools: "Compare Electricity Bills by State" and "Compare Electricity Usage by State". 

Some of these tasks are undertaken in Europe by competition authorities or energy regulators. Private driven websites are also making public comparison tools. Making electric bills more transparent and comparing prices are fundamental for the protection of electricity customers rights. At EU level, I refer to the works of the Citizens' Energy Forum (so-called London Forum). In November 2010, the EU Commission adopted a Staff Working Paper on "An Energy Policy for Consumers" (SEC(2010) 1407 final).

Read the latest article published by Compare Electricity Rates here:

"Why I Don’t Care How Much My Electric Bill is Right Now”

On the same website, you can also read:

• 10 Things to Learn About Renewable Energy Credits
• 10 Reasons Why Electricity Rates Vary in Texas
• 10 Cool Ways to Provide Power to Your House
• 8 Ways to Save Money by Controlling Your Thermostat

Smart Metering Regulation in Norway and Roll out Agenda for AMS

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

Regjeringen Legger frem Proposisjoner om Stortingets Samtykke om Fornybardirektivet og Felles Elsertifikater med Sverige

Nedenfor følger kopi av pressemelding publisert av Olje- og Energidepartementet den 28.10.2011.

"Regjeringen har i dag fremmet Prop 4 S (2011-2012) og Prop 5 S (2011-2012) om innhenting av Stortingets samtykke til henholdsvis innlemmelse av fornybardirektivet (2009/28/EF) i EØS-avtalen og til inngåelse av avtale mellom Kongeriket Norges regjering og Kongerikets Sveriges regjering om et felles marked for elsertifikater av 29. juni 2011.

- Når vi nå oversender disse to samtykkeproposisjonene til Stortinget, er vi enda et skritt nærmere oppstart av elsertifikatmarkedet 1.januar 2012, sier olje- og energiminister Ola Borten Moe.

EUs fornybardirektiv har som mål å etablere et felles rammeverk for å fremme bruk av energi fra fornybare energikilder i EU-landene. Hvert medlemsland skal bidra ved å oppfylle separate mål for andel fornybar energi av totalt energibruk innen 2020 slik at det bidrar til det over¬ordnede EU-målet om en 20 prosent fornybarandel i 2020. Det er også fastsatt et mål om at 10 prosent av energibruken i transport¬sektoren i 2020 skal dekkes med fornybar energi. I utkastet til EØS-vedtak legges det fram et norsk mål på 67,5 prosent i 2020. Det legges videre opp til at Norge aksepterer et mål om en fornybarandel i transportsektoren på 10 prosent i 2020.

En avtale mellom Norge og Sverige om et felles marked for elsertifikater ble undertegnet i Stockholm 29. juni 2011. Avtalen har til formål å sikre utbygging av ny fornybar kraftproduksjon fram til 2020, i et langsiktig og tett samarbeid mellom Norge og Sverige, gjennom et felles marked for elsertifikater.

Det felles systemet er planlagt å ha oppstart 1. januar 2012 og varighet fram til april 2036. Partenes felles mål er å utløse 26,4 TWh ny elproduksjon basert på fornybare energikilder i Norge og Sverige i 2020. Avtalen fastsetter hvordan en rekke elementer i dette samarbeidet skal håndteres.

Avtalen med Sverige trer i kraft 1. januar 2012 dersom begge land senest 31. desember 2011 har notifisert hverandre ved noteveksling at deres interne konstitusjonelle krav er oppfylt og dersom EØS-komiteens beslutning om innlemmelse av fornybardirektivet (2009/28/EF) i EØS-avtalen er trådt i kraft.

I proposisjonene inviteres Stortinget til å gi sitt samtykke til å innlemme Europaparlaments- og rådsdirektiv 2009/28/EF i EØS avtalen og til inngåelse av avtalen med Sverige. Den nye elproduksjonen utløst av elsertifikatmarkedet vil regnes med for hvert av landenes måloppnåelse etter fornybardirektivet."

Tekst til proposisjoner er tilgjengelige på Utenriksdepartementets hjemmesider:

• Samtykkeproposisjon Prop 4 S (2011-2012) om innhenting av Stortingets samtykke til henholdsvis innlemmelse av fornybardirektivet (2009/28/EF) i EØS-avtalen.
• Samtykkeproposisjon Prop 5 S (2011-2012) om innhenting av Stortingets samtykke til inngåelse av avtale mellom Kongeriket Norges regjering og Kongerikets Sveriges regjering om et felles marked for elsertifikater av 29. juni 2011; 

Norway and the UK Sign Joint Statement and Confirm Cooperation on Energy

The energy ministers of Norway and the UK signed today, 25 October 2011, a "Joint Ministerial Statement on Climate Change and Energy Security" (doc. available HERE).

The document, as indicated by its title, is not legally binding, but is a political signal by the means of a joint agreemet to cooperate further on a series of energy issues of common interest for the two countries. It also reflects the desire to develop a common vision for energy activities in the North Sea ("One North Sea"). Interestingly, the issues of the exploitation of fossil and renewable energy sources are put together in the same document. The two agenda of securing a safe but continued petroleum production and promoting low carbon consumption and generation are to be conducted in parallel, and to a certain extent in coordination. On the last point, the next meeting of the UK-Norway High Level Officials' Dialogue will take place in London first half of 2012. Bilateral statement or Memorandum of Understanding between countries in the sector of energy, renewables or climate change policy have flourished during the last decade. By adoption a joint statement, Norway and the UK are today only confirming their cooperation on these issues, defining a short-term agenda ("in the year ahead"), and strengthening the confidence of investors in the related sectors. Previously, the two countries already established:

• in 2005, a Framework Agreement as to the development of oil and gas projects. See on that point the Guidance for Development of Trans-boundary Oil and Gas Fields with Norway (HERE);
• in 2005, the North Sea Basin Task Force (NSBTF) (http://nsbtf.squarespace.com/), focusing on the adoption of common principles for the regulation of CCS (later on joined by Germany and The Netherlands in 2008);
• on 28 May 2009, the One North Sea - Joint Ministerial Statement on Climate Change and Energy Security (HERE), defining CCS, energy and renewables as areas of cooperation.

Today's joint statement should be seen as an updated version of the 2009 statement, but with a slightly amended order of topics, and a clear emphasis on petroleum:

Oil and Gas - Some figures can be mentionned here as a reminder of the tight relationship between the two countryes: in 2008, Norway exported 33% of its natural gas and 29% of its crude oil to the UK; the UK imported 72% of its gas from Norway. The signals given this week by the UK energy minister confirm that Norway will continue to be an important importer for the country. The two countries' gas transportation systems are interconnected by Langeled, the word's longest underwater pipeline. The political signal given by the two governments is formulated as follows:

"We remain fully committed to support industry in the future development of our oil and gas resources in the North Sea using the best technology available to manage emissions, protect the environment and maximise recovery of resources."

Aas far as climate chane is concerned, collaboration on carbon capture and storage (CCS) is referred too through participation to the Clean Energy Ministerial CCUS Action Group, the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum, and Phase II of the EU-China Near Zero Emissions Coal project.

Multilateral energy fora - The joint statement refers to a series of energy fora within which the two countries will work together. These fora include: the IEA (and the already existing bilateral cooperation); the IEF; the G20; the EU; the Energy Charter Treaty. As concerns the EU, one should note the special mention made as to the regulation of offshore drilling (see press release from EU Commission on envisaged EU safety rules for offshore oil drilling IP/10/1324 from 13.10.2010). The two countries have indeed common interests in the offshore industry and have already in place coordinated safety regulation. The reference to collaboration on renewables is extremely limited. Other initiatives exist, including with other countries, but confidence in the RES sector would have benefited from a renewed political signal. It must be noted that Norwegian interests are also well represented on the UK renewables market. As regards the EU, the two ministers agreed to:

"Collaborate in the EU/EEA, including on the ongoing work related to offshore drilling regulations in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and by exploring ways to collaborate to promote green growth in tje region, following up on the low carbon initiative of the UK Nordic Baltic summit."

As concerns electricity interconnections, the declarations were primarily oral, without concrete announcements. As reported in the press release from DECC: "They also agreed to continue to support efforts to develop interconnection between the UK and Norway."

References:

• Press release, Norwegian Ministry for Petroleum and Energy, 25.10.2011, HERE.
• Press release, Department of Energy and Climate Change, UK, "UK and Norway sign historic energy agreement, 25.10.2011, HERE.

Antitrust Proceedings under Articles 101 and 102 TFEU: EU Commission Publishes a Notice on Best Practices

The Commission notice on best practices for the conduct of proceedings concerning Articles 101 and 102 TFEU was published in the Official Journal on 20 October 2011 (available HERE).

As stated in the first part of the Notice, the purpose is to provide practical guidance on the conduct of proceedings before the Commission. The Notice consequently contributes to more transparenct in the procedure for enforcement of the Treaty's antitrust provisions, and is to read together with the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, and Commission Regulation No. 773/2004 relating to the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to the former Articles 81 and 82 EC Treaty (Implementing Regulation). The Notice also reflects the case law of the Court.

The Notice does not cover proceedings before national competition authorities when they apply the provisions. It does not deal in detail with specific procedures (e.g., imposing sanctions or fines when misleading information was submitted or seals were breached) or interim measures.

As presented by the Commission itself:

"This notice is structured in the following way. Section 2 sets out the procedure followed during the investigative phase. This part is relevant for any investigation regardless of whether it leads to a prohibition decision (Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003), a commitment decision (Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003) or a rejection of complaint decision (Article 7 of the Implementing Regulation). Section 3 describes the main procedural steps and rights of defence in the context of procedures leading to prohibition decisions. Section 4 describes the specific features of the commitment procedure. Section 5 covers rejection of complaints. The remaining sections are of general application: Section 6 describes the limits to use of information, Section 7 deals with the adoption, notification and publication of decisions and Section 8 with future revisions."

EU Energy Law Conference in Leuven, Belgium on 5 December 2011

The Energy Law Research Forum (ELRF), a network of lawyers specialised in energy law, will hold, in collaboration with Intersentia, its fourth annual conference on 5 December 2011 in Leuven, Belgium.

Among the topics covered are: the Third Energy Package, Production (nuclear, combined cycle gas turbine, offshore wind), Transmission (investments, liability of TSO, integration of renewables), Distribution, Supply, Consumption, Competition law, Regulators role.

The Conference will end by a debate and a roundtable to which I will participate. The discussion will there be: "The 20-20-20 targets by 2020 - are we still on track?" See you there!

The detailed programme of the conference and information on registration are available HERE.

Elsertifikater: Forskjeller mellom Sverige og Norge, Kort Sagt

Nedenfor følger en fin og kort oppsummering av situajonen mellom Norge og Sverige når det gjelder forkjeller i forkant av felles elsertifikatermarkedet, som jeg tar fra NORWEA presentasjon under NVE Energidagene fra 13. oktober 2011 (tilgjengelig HER):

SWE vind < NOR vind

SWE nett > NOR nett

SWE arbeidskraft (kostnader) < NOR arbeidskraft

SWE el. og el.sert = NOR el. og el.sert

SWE konsesjon ~ NOR konsesjon

SWE avskriving > NOR avskriving

I tillegg vil jeg selv understrekke to viktige komponenter som skal veie i balansen i fremtiden og som er:

• konsesjonsbehandlingen - Man kan nå forvente en bredt diskusjon av konseskjonsregimet i Norge, som en konsekvens av de utfordringene opplevd de siste årene, både når det gjelder nett (jf. debatten rundt Sima - Samnanger kraftlinjen) og produksjon (jf. debatten rundt mulig konkurranse mellom Sverige og Norge om hvem skal behandle raskest konsesjonssøknader og dermed utsette mest elsertifikater).
• Nettutviklingen - Her også ligger en del utfordringer for elsertifikatmarkedet, nemlig netttilknytning for anleggene. EU direktivene definerer også en del prinsipper om tilknyttingsplikt og prioritert adgang som kan utfordre den norske nettpolitikken.

France Prohibits Hydraulic Fracturing, but not the Exploration and Exploitation of Shale Gas and Shale Oil

The French National Assembly discussed and rejected on 11 October 2011 a law proposal submitted in July 2011 which aimed to forbid the exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons (i.e., including shale gas and shale oil), to repeal the exclusive permits for research of mines of non-conventional hydrocarbons, and to ensure more transparency in the Mining Code. This means that, although France passed a law on 13 July 2011 which prohibits the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons by hydraulic fracturing on the French territory (loi n° 2011-835), the research and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons by other methods remain legal. The proposed legislation was rejected by a large majority, 269 against, 191 in favour, mostly originating from the party of the government.

References:

Text of the proposal, availalble HERE: Proposition de Loi No. 3690 visant à interdire l'exploration et l'exploitation des hydrocarbures non conventionnels, à abroger les permis exclusifs de recherche de mines d'hydrocarbures non conventionnels et à assurer plus de transparence dans le code minier.

REMIT Regulation Adopted in First Reading by the Council

The Council has adopted today, 10 October 2011, the proposal for a regulation on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency, so-called REMIT Regulation.

See previous posts published on this blog on the proposal HERE.

As summarised in the press release published by the Council (available HERE), the main purpose of the regulation is to :

"set up a framework for monitoring wholesale energy markets in order to effectively detect and deter market abuse and manipulation, thereby ensuring the integrity and transparency of those markets. The central element of this framework is the establishment of a market monitoring function at European level, a task which will be carried out by the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER)."

The regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the EU in the coming weeks, and will enter into force on the twentieth day of its publication.

France Repeals Three Permits for Shale Gas Exploration by Hydraulic Fracturing

The French government announced on Monday 3 October that it repealed three permits for shale gas exploration based on hydraulic fracturing. The permits are annulled for the very reason that they involve the used of the hydraulic fracturing technology, which has been prohibited after the adoption of the Law dated 13 July 2011 (text available HERE). The three permits are owned by two companies, the American Schuepbach (Ardèche and Larzac) and the French Total (Montélimar). Schuepbach clearly mentionned its plans to use hydraulic fracturing in its application for permits, which was clearly contrary to the new law and so illegal, while the grounds for the cancellation of Total's permits are less obvious. The basic argument in the refusal of Total's permit was, according to the Minister in charge, Mrs. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, that the line of argumentation developed by Total was not credible since: (i) Total wanted now to explore conventional hydrocarbons in a region with limited potential for them and that (ii) the company still wants to develop shale gas resources in the future but with other technologies than hydraulic fracturing while these other technologies are not yet operational.

The Ministry underlines that the 61 remaining exploration permits which are still valid do not involve exploration related to shale gas or oil shale, and that all the companies committed themselves not to use hydraulic fracturing as a method for extraction.

Reference:

• Article by Le Figaro dated 30.09.2011 (HERE).
• Press relase, "Hydrocarbures: le Gouvernement annonce que trois permis exclusifs de recherche seront abrogés", Ministère de l'Ecologie, du Développement Durable, des Transports et du Logement, 3 October 2011 (HERE).

GASSCO Tar Over Driften av Easington Gassterminalen (UK)

GASSCO melder at selskapet overtar fra i dag, 1. oktober 2011, driften av mottaksterminalen for norsk gass i Easington, Storbritannia. I praksis er det et driftselskap som ble etablert av GASSCO i Storbritannia for å håndtere oppgavene i terminalen (30 ansatte i GASSCO UK Branch AS).

Mottaksterminalen, som egentlig heter Langeled Receiving Facilities (LRF), er en av de tre største i Storbritannia. Den tar imot gass fra blant annet den berømte rørledningen Langeled (1200 km langt). GASSCO kaller den selv "det viktigste landingspunktet for norsk gass i Europas største gassmarked," hvor 27 % av det nasjonale gassforbruket er dekket av norsk gass. GASSCOs administrerende direktør Brian Bjordal supplerer med at:

”Som siste målepunkt for norsk gass før markedet, har mottaksterminalene en spesiell funksjon. En direkte utøvelse av vårt operatøransvar er viktig for uavhengigheten og nøytraliteten som er selve fundamentet for Gasscos virksomhet. Daglig teknisk drift av LRF gir oss også et klart og tydelig grensesnitt mot myndighetene i Europas største gassmarked.”

LRF terminalen ble innlemmet i og dermed eies av interessentskapet GASSLED. Terminalen var under driftansvaret av Centrica fra oppstarten i 2006 frem til i dag (driftsavtale som tar slutt i dag). Beslutningen av å overføre operatør ansvar for terminalen ble tatt i september 2009 av Gassled. Tilsvarende avgjørelser ble tatt i 2007 for mottaksterminaler for norsk gass i Belgia, Frankrike og Tyskland (se oversikt over terminaler HER).

Referanser: pressemelding, Gassco, 30.09.2011, HER.

Bildet: Receiving terminal Easington, (c) Gassco.