How customers benefit from information on the source of their electricity – The case of Flanders• How is disclosure regulated in Flanders?• Using the ‘Groencheck’

to inform and empower customers

Katrien Verwimp 20-03-2013

Belgium federal state

• 3 regions: Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels• 4 Energy regulators:

• Federal level: CREG• Regional level: VREG, CWaPE, Brugel

• Responsabilities divided between policy levels• Federal responsabilities• Regional responsabilities

• RES-E (support systems, GO’s, …)• Disclosure

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Disclosure in Flanders

Disclosure of the origin of the electricity supplied in previous year:

• yearly VREG report and on the suppliers’ invoices

• RES-E and CHP only allowed when proven by GO’s

• Fossil and nuclear: proven by corrected production data

• Remaining fossil and nuclear is exported to the RE-DISS residual mix

• RES-E: monthly GO cancelation => ‘Greencheck’ 3

Import of Guarantees of Origin • Flanders is a net GO importer

• GO import raises the RES-E consumption in Flanders from 11,5% to 52 % (2012)

• Extra stimulus by partial tax exemption for RES-E consumption• Up and untill 2012

• Fallen away starting from 1/1/2013 (R.Decree 27/12/2012)

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Origin of GO’s cancelled for 2012 supply

VREG • VLAAMSE REGULATOR VAN DE ELEKRICITEITS- EN GASMARKT P • 5

Geografical origin

Technological origin

Why expand the RES-E disclosure system

Green electricity products are popular1.Individuals wonder: how is individual RES-E consumption proven?2.Public debate on the origin of the RES-E products• Domestic vs. foreign RES-E• Type of energy source

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Proof of individual RES-E consumption• Risk of double disclosure, based on the same GO

• Not at registry level• Theoretical example of double disclosure:

• Supplier offers 1 ‘grey’ and 1 ‘green’ electricity product

• Assumption: All his consumers have the same consumption

• He tells 90% of his customers they receive a full RES-E product

• He tells the regulator that only 10% of his customers use RES-E, and cancels only GO’s for this amount

• =>The same GO has been double-disclosed 9x7

Avoid double disclosure

• Link GO cancelation to individual consumers1. Option of consumer account in GO registry

• Consumer can check himself the amount of GO’s cancelled for his consumption

• With large number of residential RES-E consumers: Many accounts = Huge contact management

2. Option of linking individual consumption data from Grid Operators to GO cancelation• Works for all consumers• Demands coöperation of all DSO’s

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VREG

Monthly ‘GreenCheck’ for RES-E consumers

• Based on individual acces point and consumption• Reporting mechanism with cooperation of

Suppliers and Grid operators• Monthly cancelation of GO’s by the green

electricity suppliers for their customers• On VREG website: every customer can verify if

the individually consumed RES-E was proven to be RES-based through GO cancelation by the supplier, using his individual EAN code

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Snapshot Groencheck

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VREG • VLAAMSE REGULATOR VAN DE ELEKRICITEITS- EN GASMARKT P • 11

XXXXXXXXXXXX

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XXXXXXXXXXXX

How does it work?Monthly ‘Green reporting procedure’ (1/4)

• Electricity suppliers• Report a list of all acces point EANcodes of their

RES-E consumers of the past month of supply N• Including the %RES-E and the Grid Operator GLN

code• By the 3rd working day of the month N+1

• VREG • Recombines the lists of all suppliers to lists of

RES-E consumers per Grid Operator• Sends these lists to the Grid Operators

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Monthly Green reporting procedure (2/4)

• Grid Operators:• Receive the list of all RES-E consumers (on working day 4 of

month N+1)

• Add to every consumer the individual consumption of the past month N

• Send the completed list back to VREG (by working day 12 of month N+1)

• VREG• Calculates the amount of RES-E supplied per supplier in

MWh

• =amount of GO’s to cancel per supplier

• Alerts all suppliers of their amount of GO’s to cancel14

Monthly Green reporting procedure (3/4)

• Suppliers• Cancel their ‘quotum’ of GO’s (within 10 working

days)

• VREG• Checks whether suppliers did cancel enough GO’s

to proof their promised RES-E supply• This % of compliance is added in the webtool• This webtool is linked to the database of all

reported RES-E consumers for that month N

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Monthly Green reporting procedure (4/4)

• Consumer• Fill in the EANcode of his acces point at

www.vreg.be/groencheck • Get to see the % of RES-E in his consumption that

was proven to VREG by GO cancelation by his supplier

• = For the past 12 months

• Procedure: BESL-2011-7

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Benefits of this procedure• Consumers information

• = key element in liberalized market

• Random inspection of suppliers proportions of GO cancelation

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Why expand the RES-E disclosure system

Green electricity products are popular1.Individuals wonder: how is individual RES-E consumption proven?2.Public debate on the origin of the RES-E products• Domestic vs. foreign RES-E• Type of energy source

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Next step: expand the ‘Greencheck’Answer to the public debate concerning the origin of the RES-E products• Domestic vs. foreign RES-E• Type of energy source

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Info on the origin of the RES-E products

• Information added in Disclosure report of 2012, per supplier:

• Plan: integrate this information in the ‘Greencheck’, per electricity product

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Country of origin Renewable Energy Source

Thank you for your attention!• Contact data:

Katrien VerwimpMail: katrien.verwimp@vreg.beTel: 0032 2 5531377

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