As the Energy Regulatory Office informed: The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection formulated a position regarding the interpretation of the definition of “investment decision” specified in the Act on the promotion of electricity from high-efficiency cogeneration. The UOKiK position applies in particular to the issue of conditions for connection or conclusion of a contract for connection of a cogeneration unit to the transmission network or gas distribution network.
Pursuant to the Act on the promotion of electricity from high-efficiency cogeneration in its current wording, issuing connection conditions or concluding a contract for connection to the transmission network or gas distribution network is not synonymous with making an investment decision within the meaning of Art. 2 point 3a of the Act on CHP, and as a consequence does not constitute a breach of the so-called “incentive effect”.
On the other hand, in light of the UOKiK position, commencing construction works related to the investment, e.g. commencing preparatory works, including making connections to the technical infrastructure network for construction purposes, is tantamount to making an investment decision, and thus constitutes a breach of the “incentive effect”.
At the same time, the President of the Energy Regulatory Office recalls the information provided by the Minister of Energy last year regarding Poland’s commitment by the European Commission to ensure that the support provided for new cogeneration units will only be available to such unit as to which the investment decision was made not earlier than after the auction resolution date or recruitment.
In accordance with URE recommendations, entrepreneurs planning to take advantage of support schemes in the form of auctions or calls, regulated in the Act on the promotion of electricity from high-efficiency cogeneration, should already take into account the positions of UOKiK and the Minister of Energy at the planning and implementation stage of the investment.