Amendment to Unlicensed Electricity Generation Regulation

In today’s 17.01.2018 Official Gazette, a regulation (“Amending Regulation”) amending Regulation as to Unlicensed Electricity Generation in the Electricity Market (“UCR”) has been published. This is the fifth amendment of the UCR since its entry into force on 02.10.2013. This update will provide a brief overview as to the important changes in the Unlicensed Electricity Regulation.

Exception for Public Entities

The 8th subparagraph of sixth article of the UCR is concerned with the maximum air distance at which a generation plant can be located to the grid to which it is to be connected. The Amending regulation provides that those requirements set forth under the 8th subparagraph of 6th article of the UCR will not apply to municipalities and those entities with which municipalities have control relationship.

Acquisition of Jointly Used Parts of Distribution Facilities

The Amending Regulation introduces an interesting addition to 6th Article of the UCR. The added provision contemplates that in the event that a positive connection opinion has been granted to generation plants and consumption facilities which do not relate to unlicensed generation, through distribution facilities which have not been, as of the date of entry into force of this subsection, acquired by the grid operator, and which have been constructed exclusively for unlicensed generation plants, those parts of distribution facilities which are under common usage will be acquired by the grid operator as per the Electricity Market Connection and System Usage Regulation Article 37.

Connection Application

Art. 7/7/b sets a time limit within which those who (are to) benefit from grant or credit schemes must submit the contract evidencing that the applicant has become entitled to such grant or credit scheme. Such time limit has been increased to 7 months (it was 3 months) as from the date of Connection Agreement.

Repeal of the Exemption for Certain Solar or Wind Powered Plants

The Amending Regulation repeals the 13th subsection of Art. 7 which provided that those applications relating with wind-powered or solar-powered plants which, in the opinion of TEİAŞ, are, with the aid of certain technological enhancements, able to generate power without interruption will be treated differently form the allocated capacities for wind or solar powered plants as per subsection c of Art. 5 UCR.

Exception to the Transfer Prohibition

Art. 29 of UCR originally provided that those plants provisional acceptance of which have not occurred cannot be transferred. The Amending Regulation has brought an exception to this rule by providing that those plants which are mentioned in the 6th, 7th and 8th subparagraphs of Art. 7 UCR may be transferred even if the provisional acceptance has not occurred.