Application and agreement

Security requirement applied to new persons connected to power grid as of 17 March

The Electricity Market Act and Other Acts Amendment Act adopted in Riigikogu on 15 February 2023 and published in Riigi Teataja on 7 March 2023 entered into force on 17 March 2023.

Pursuant to subsection 87¹ (1) of the Electricity Market Act (EMA), the security is applied to all new persons connected to the power grid as of the act’s entry into force. Therefore, all persons who submitted connection applications for production purposes to Elering as of 17 March 2023 are required to provide a security of €38,000 per megavolt-ampere (MVA) to the transmission system operator pursuant to subsection 87¹ (1) of the EMA. Pursuant to subsection 111³ (14) of the EMA, a security is also applied to connection applications filed before the act’s entry into force (17 March 2023) and to connection contracts for production purposes that have been entered into and are being performed after 60 days have passed from the act’s entry into force, i.e. in the case of pending connections, the security must be provided to the transmission network operator by 16 May 2023 (the last day for provision of security).

The security may be a guarantee from a credit institution, financial institution or insurer with an investment grade credit rating under the EMA or a deposit in the bank account of the network operator SWEDBANK EE882200221024551301.

If the customer provides the security as a guarantee (i.e. not as a deposit), it must be valid for at least three (3) years as of the submission of the connection application. If necessary, the customer must renew the guarantee or provide a new guarantee when signing the connection contract. The renewed guarantee must be valid until the start date of production set out in the EMA, which will be fixed by the parties in the connection contract.

As of 17 March 2023, Elering will be able to consider a connection application as accepted after the transfer of the security or the submission of a guarantee, the payment of the connection application fee and the assessment of the data submitted with the connection application as meeting the requirements of Elering’s terms and conditions for connection to the electricity transmission grid.

The deposit will be returned to the customer only if the customer has started generating electricity with the generating equipment covered by the connection application or if the connection application was not accepted. If the customer fails to provide the security by the due date, the connection procedure will be terminated.

Pursuant to Elering’s standardized terms and conditions for connecting to the national transmission system (hereinafter connection conditions) all of the procedures related to connecting to the national transmission system and preliminary investigation and related exchanges of information shall be carried out in the connections information systems egle.ee, in which data must be submitted regarding the desired connection and the necessary supplementary documents.

In submitting the grid connection application, it should be borne in mind that the documents to be presented cover both the power-generating module and installations related to the module as well as the power line and substations between the connection point and the power-generating module.

If the technical parameters of the power-generating module change at a later stage, the technical solution for the connection as well as the connection fee related thereto may change.

To obtain a connection offer, the customer must pay a procedural fee.

Within 5 working days of the payment of the procedural fee, Elering shall notify the customer of any deficiencies in the grid access application. After such a notification has been sent by Elering, the customer has 20 business days for eliminating the shortcomings in the grid access application.

The connection offer shall be presented to the customer within 90 days of acceptance of the grid access application. The offer is good for 60 days, and during this period, a agreement must be concluded.

The connection offer specifies the following:

• the locations of the connection point and the metering point;
• the amount of the connection fee or the fee for the amendment of the conditions, the conditions for payment of the fee;
•  the calculation of the fee;
• the technical solution for the connection along with the basic electrical parameters of the connection point;
• conditions for ensuring grid connection;
• amendment of the consumption and/or generation conditions;
• conditions for amendment and termination of the connection contract;
• conditions of the general part of the connection agreement;
• the deadline for readiness of the connection;
• other terms and conditions.

A connection contract is deemed to have been entered into if Elering receives an acceptance of the connection contract offer not later than on the last day of the validity of the connection contract offer and the connectee has, along with the grid access application, submitted all required data and documents to Elering. Signing of the connection agreement shall be considered acceptance of the connection offer.

Elering uses a new network calculation method, applied to connection applications accepted from the 1st of may 2022, which does not require the necessity for additional increase of the electrical transmission network capacity, in order to combine the power production and/or consumption of connection points with the same specific voltage within the same substation, into a single connection point, of already signed connection contracts.

The necessary work for increasing the electrical transmission network capacity, stipulated in the signed connection contracts, will remain valid, but this will remove the need for the construction of several connection points. In case of interest contact the project manager curating Your connection contract.