Around mid-May, the Cypriot Energy Regulatory Market (CERA) will put draft regulatory decisions in relation to the operation of the competitive electricity market in Cyprus for public consultation.
In its announcement, CERA also states that with the contribution of specialized consulting services, it has recently completed the investigation of good practices at the European level from which Cyprus can learn lessons in order to proceed with the efficient and timely operation of the competitive electricity market in Cyprus, formation of the regulatory framework for the subject in question.
The actions of CERA are carried out in the context of harmonization with the relevant European directives and the provisions for the promotion of active customers and self-consumers from renewable sources, the facilitation of the establishment of citizen energy communities, the facilitation of the establishment of renewable energy communities, and have been transferred to national law. demand response through cumulative representation.
“The above provisions include, among other things, the creation by CERA of a favorable regulatory framework that will allow all the above schemes to be able to maximize the benefits of decentralized energy sources, both for the schemes themselves and for the electric system, participating without discrimination in the competitive electricity market, which is based on the “Target Model” (Target Model) of the EU for the electricity market”, reports CERA.
However, CERA emphasizes that the actions for the above schemes are inextricably linked with the operation of the competitive electricity market based on the “Target Model” of the EU.
Three years delay for techno-economic study
Regarding the techno-economic study for the redesign of the transmission and distribution system, CERA states that the study has not yet been completed, despite the fact that it had to be submitted by the two operators to CERA by March 31, 2021, however, at the request of the operators, an extension was granted until the end of December 2024.
CERA notes that it is also necessary to upgrade the way the networks operate both in terms of how the system will be balanced, as well as the planning of its further development.
It is clarified that managers must upgrade their infrastructures, especially in terms of collecting and disseminating information regarding the operation of the network, so that active customers and energy communities can optimize the operation of their infrastructures, adjusting their energy characteristics.
Today, CERA reports, the European regulatory framework no longer treats customers as consumers who simply use electricity, install energy systems (such as photovoltaics and batteries) and buy appliances, but are increasingly treated as “active market participants” who take positions in the market based on the contracts they choose to enter into, and should be able to trade residual energy products locally with each other, but also centrally in the organized market, offering products and services to electricity system operators.
It is also noted that technological progress in smart meter and energy management systems gives consumers the opportunity to participate more actively in the management of their electricity consumption (relevant is regulatory decision No. 02/2018 (KDP 259/2018) “on Implementation Binding Schedule for Mass Installation and Operation by the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Distribution System Operator’.
According to CERA, the process in question for the creation of a regulatory framework is not a simple regulatory intervention, but concerns a rather complex and complex matter which needs a special and very serious and specialized approach before final decisions are made. stockwatch
