General principles of grid service providing
The grid operator must offer its electricity grid services to electricity market participants fairly and non-discriminately. The provision of services must not include any unreasonable terms or conditions that would restrict competition in the electricity market.
Rules concerning the connection of new producers to the grid
Article 20 of the Electricity Market Act (588/2013) stipulates the obligation to connect:
"Upon request and for reasonable compensation, the network operator shall connect electricity consumption sites, power plants, and energy storage facilities that meet technical requirements within its area of operation to its electricity network. The terms and technical requirements for connection must be transparent, fair, and non-discriminatory, considering the electricity system's reliability and efficiency.
The network operator must publish the technical requirements for connection and a reasonable timeframe within which it will process connection requests.
Upon the request of the connecting party, the network operator shall provide a comprehensive and sufficiently detailed estimate of connection costs and an estimated timeframe for connection delivery. The connection must be made to the electricity network within 24 months of concluding the connection agreement, provided that the necessary investments by the network operator for the connection can be reasonably implemented within this timeframe without discrimination towards other network users."
Special rules for connecting RES and storage to the grid
Article 20a stipulates the special regulations on connecting power plants and energy storage to the main grid and the high-voltage distribution grid:
"The grid operator and the high-voltage distribution network operator shall not refuse to connect a new power plant or energy storage facility by citing potential future limitations in the available transmission capacity of the network.
To expedite the implementation of the connection and to ensure the economic efficiency of the connected unit, the transmission system operator and the high-voltage distribution network operator may impose deviations from general connection practices regarding the guaranteed power at the connection point or set operational restrictions on the connection, provided that the connection cannot be implemented within the regular schedule due to insufficient transmission capacity or without compromising network reliability. However, such a restriction shall not apply if the connecting party bears the costs associated with securing the connection, which cannot be considered to fall within the development obligation as stipulated in Section 19."
Article 53a stipulates special rules for small-scale and RES production:
"The distribution network operator shall have general and easily applicable procedures for connecting small-scale electricity generation and efficient cogeneration, as defined in Section 3, Paragraph 19 of the Energy Efficiency Act (1429/2014), to the distribution network.
The distribution network operator shall have a simple notification procedure for connecting to the distribution network. Under this procedure, power plants or combined production units of end users of self-generated renewable energy and demonstration projects, with an electricity generation capacity of up to 10.8 kilowatts, are connected to the distribution network upon notification to the distribution network operator. Within one month of receiving the notification, the distribution network operator may refuse the requested connection or propose an alternative connection point for justified safety reasons or due to technical incompatibility of system components. The power plant or combined production unit may be connected to the distribution network if the distribution network operator issues a positive decision on the connection or does not decide within one month of receiving the notification."
Special rules for isolated and microgrids and energy communities
Article 4, paragraph 2 stipulates the exemptions from the electricity network licence:
"The following activities are exempted from having a licence:
- Electricity network operations where the electricity network is used solely for the internal electricity supply of a property or a comparable group of properties;
- Electricity distribution via a separate line, provided that the electricity being distributed is produced in small-scale electricity generation."