S.I. No. 614/2002 - Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Public Service Obligations) (Amendment) Order 2002

1. Peat powered generating stations as specified at paragraph 4.16 of the Notification to the EU Commission

Unit in Power Plant

Projected Closure Date

Ferbane

2000

Shannonbridge U1

2003

Shannonbridge U2

2004

Shannonbridge U3

2004

Rhode U3

2003

Cahirciveen

2003

Lanesboro U2

2004

Lanesboro U3

2004

Bellacorick U1

2004

Bellacorick U2

2004

2. New 150MW peat power generating station to be constructed at Shannonbridge County Offaly.

3. The amount of the PSO Levy payable in respect of an electricity account by a final customer in a levy period shall be apportioned by the supplier equally, as far as is practicable, between the invoices to be issued by the supplier in the course of a levy period but in any event so as to ensure that the full amount of the PSO Levy payable by such final customer in respect of a levy period shall be so invoiced within 3 months of the end of that levy period and that the final customer is invoiced no less frequently than once every three months.

4. Where a final customer changes its supplier, the full monthly PSO Levy amount for such final customer will be invoiced by the supplier with which that final customer is registered as the holder of an electricity account at the end of the month for which the monthly PSO Levy is due, whether or not the final customer concerned was a customer of the said supplier for a full calendar month and each such invoice shall charge the relevant final customer for the PSO Levy amount due in respect of such final customer since its last PSO Levy invoice.

5. Every invoice in respect of the PSO Levy shall identify the amount of the PSO Levy being invoiced, separately from every other item being invoiced, and shall refer to the amount as “Public Service Obligations Levy”.

6. Every invoice in respect of the PSO Levy shall include the following description of the PSO Levy

“PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATIONS LEVY

This public service obligations levy relates to the purchase by ESB of the output of certain peat generated electricity, in the interests of security of supply, and the output of certain generating stations using renewable sustainable or alternative forms of energy, in the interests of environmental protection, in accordance with a Public Service Obligations Order made pursuant to the

Electricity Regulation Act 1999

.”.

7. For the period of 6 months immediately following 1 January 2003, in lieu of the description of the PSO Levy specified in paragraph 6, the Board shall include on every invoice in respect of the PSO Levy the following description of the PSO Levy

“PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATIONS LEVY

This public service obligations levy relates to the purchase by ESB of the output of certain peat generated electricity, in the interests of security of supply, and the output of certain generating stations using renewable, sustainable or alternative forms of energy, in the interests of environmental protection, in accordance with a Public Service Obligations Order made pursuant to the

Electricity Regulation Act 1999

. The cost of purchase by ESB of these sources of electricity, with the exception of some recently commissioned renewable energy electricity generating stations, was included in electricity bills issued by the Board prior to the introduction of the PSO Levy. Therefore, an appropriate adjustment has been made to this invoice to separately identify the PSO Levy, on a basis approved by the Commission for Energy Regulation.”.

8. For the period of 6 months immediately following 1 January 2003, in lieu of the description of the PSO Levy specified in paragraph 6, suppliers to eligible customers using Virtual Independent Power Producer sourced electricity shall include on every invoice in respect of the PSO Levy the following description of the PSO Levy

“PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATIONS LEVY

This public service obligations levy relates to the purchase by ESB of the output of certain peat generated electricity, in the interests of security of supply, and the output of certain generating stations using renewable sustainable or alternative forms of energy, in the interests of environmental protection, in accordance with a Public Service Obligations Order made pursuant to the

Electricity Regulation Act 1999

. The cost of purchase by

[name of independent supplier]

of these sources of electricity with the exception of some recently commissioned renewable energy electricity generating stations, was included in electricity bills issued by

[name of independent supplier]

prior to the introduction of the PSO Levy and therefore an appropriate adjustment has been made to this invoice to separately identify the PSO Levy, on a basis approved by the Commission for Energy Regulation.”.

9. Each supplier shall account for and pay to the distribution system operator all amounts invoiced in respect of the PSO Levy to final customers connected to the distribution system but after having deducted the expenses referred to at paragraph 13 and the amount collected from final customers shall be paid to the distribution system operator no less frequently than within 2 months of invoicing the final customer concerned, on dates to be determined by the Commission.

10. Each supplier shall account for and pay to the transmission system operator all amounts invoiced in respect of the PSO Levy to final customers connected to the transmission system but after having deducted the expenses referred to at paragraph 13, and the amount collected from final customers shall be paid to the transmission system operator no less frequently than within 2 months of invoicing the final customer concerned, on dates to be determined by the Commission.

11. The distribution system operator shall account for and pay to the transmission system operator all amounts received by it from suppliers pursuant to paragraph 9, but after having deducted the expenses referred to at paragraph 14, and the amount collected shall be paid to the transmission system operator within one month of receipt of such monies, on dates to be determined by the Commission.

12. The transmission system operator shall account for and pay to the Board all amounts received by it from suppliers and the distribution system operator pursuant to paragraphs 10 and 11, but after having deducted the expenses referred to at paragraph 15, and the amount collected shall be paid to the Board within one month of receipt of monies from the distribution system operator and suppliers, on dates to be determined by the Commission.

13. Each supplier shall be entitled to deduct from the amounts to be paid to the distribution system operator and the transmission system operator, as the case may be pursuant to paragraphs 9 and 10 an amount equal to the administrative expenses estimated or determined by the Commission as incurred in complying with its duties as a collector and the amounts so deducted shall form part of the calculation of the PSO Levy specified in Article 8 (1).

14. The distribution system operator shall be entitled to deduct from the amount to be paid to the transmission system operator pursuant to paragraph 11 an amount equal to the administrative expenses estimated or determined by the Commission as incurred in complying with its duties as a collector, and the amounts so deducted shall form part of the calculation of the PSO Levy specified in Article 8 (1).

15. The transmission system operator shall be entitled to deduct from the amounts to be paid to the Board pursuant to paragraph 12 an amount equal to its administrative expenses estimated or determined by the Commission as incurred in complying with its duties as a collector, and the amounts so deducted shall form part of the calculation of the PSO Levy specified in Article 8 (1).

16. Where a supplier has paid to the distribution system operator or the transmission system operator, as the case may be, an amount in respect of the PSO Levy invoiced to a final customer and the supplier has not received payment of that amount or a part of that amount, then where the supplier satisfies the Commission that all necessary steps have been taken to recover such amount and that the amount is nonetheless irrecoverable or unlikely to ever be recovered by the supplier the Commission shall issue a certificate to that effect and the supplier shall thereupon be entitled to treat the amount concerned as an administrative expense referred to in Article 9.

17. Where a supplier, the distribution system operator or the transmission system operator has instituted legal proceedings to recover monies which it is entitled to recover and which include the PSO Levy and

(a) those monies are recovered, wholly or partly, or

(b) the monies, or a part of them, are adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be due and owing to the person who instituted the proceedings

then the legal costs (assessed on a solicitor and client basis) incurred by the person instituting those proceedings shall be treated as an administrative expense of that person in the same proportion that the PSO Levy bears to the sum recovered or adjudged to be due to the extent that the legal costs are not otherwise recovered.

18. Where the amount of an invoice relating to the supply of electricity is partly paid by a final customer the PSO Levy shall be treated as partly paid in the same proportion as the payment bears to the total amount of the invoice (excluding Value Added Tax).

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

19

th

December 2002.

Minister for Communications,

Marine and Natural Resources.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

The Electricity Regulation Act 1999

(Public Service Obligations) Order 2002, (SI No 445/00), provided for the imposition on ESB of public service obligations requiring ESB to purchase, up until 31 December 2019, the output of certain peat and renewable, sustainable or alternative electricity generating stations, in the interests of security of supply and environmental protection respectively and provided for the introduction of a PSO levy mechanism from 1

st

January 2003 to compensate the ESB for the additional costs incurred.

This Order amends the aforesaid Order to impose a public service obligation (PSO) on the ESB requiring it to purchase the output of additional renewable sustainable or alternative electricity generating stations in the interest of environmental protection and to provide for compensating it for the additional costs incurred.

20. It shall be the duty of each person who has duties pursuant to this Order to provide such information and documents to the Commission as it may require from time to time for the purpose of ensuring that each such person complies with his or her duties under this Order, including without limitation, information and evidence regarding amounts invoiced, received, accounted for and paid by him or her pursuant to his or her duties under this Order and the administrative expenses incurred by him or her, as appropriate, in relation to the performance of his or her duties under this Order.

Transmission system operator duty of priority dispatch of generating stations

21. The Commission shall direct that the transmission system operator, where applicable give priority of dispatch to generating stations, the output of which is the subject of this Order.

SCHEDULE 1

PART 1

Peat

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Name of Generator

PPA Signing Date

PPA Termination Date

Project Size (kW)

Edenderry Power Limited

19/03/98

21/12/15

117,570

PART 2

Peat

I, Dermot Ahern, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 39

of the

Electricity Regulation Act 1999

(No. 23 of 1999) (as amended by the European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) Regulations 2000 (

S.I. No. 445 of 2000

) and the

Sustainable Energy Act 2002

(No. 2 of 2002) and as adapted by the Marine and Natural Resources (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2002 (

S.I. No. 307 of 2002

)), in consideration of general social, economic and environmental factors and following consultation with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, and having, in accordance with

section 39

(10) of the

Electricity Regulation Act 1999

, given a draft of this Order to the Electricity Supply Board, being the person upon whom the obligations are to be imposed hereby order as follows