Academic literature on the topic 'Electric utilities – Law and legislation – Poland'

The research was conducted on the basis of the analysis of the current legislation, statistical data of the state authorities of Ukraine and program documents containing strategies of development of electric power industry of Ukraine and Poland. The purpose of the work is to determine the directions of developing the public mechanisms of financial support in electricity of Ukraine and Poland within cross-border cooperation. The study is logically built in terms of coverage of three areas, in particular, the analysis of the domestic electricity market of Ukraine (which conducts a critical analysis of the structure and volume of electricity in the UES of Ukraine); analysis of the compatibility of the principles of Ukrainian electricity legislation with the principles of the third EU energy package (which focuses on maintaining certain elements of non-market pricing that distort competition in the new model of the electricity market of Ukraine) and the imperative of cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and Poland which outlines them main tasks in the field of law and economics, the solution of which is necessary to create a transnational exchange market of Ukraine and Poland in the implementation of the Energy Strategy of Ukraine in the context of integration of the UES of Ukraine with the European energy system). The results obtained allow to determine the effective directions of public administering financial support of cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and Poland in electricity and possible forms and directions of its implementation.

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is one of the advanced solutions that uses electric vehicles (EV) to balance electricity demand in the power system. It can be particularly useful in analyzing and then mitigating the risk of not delivering electricity to the end user. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the possibility of operation of this technology in the legal framework. The article presents the analysis of the legal status in Poland, referring to the documents of the European Union and domestic legislation. Potential changes in Polish energy law that could facilitate the implementation of V2G technology are also proposed. In addition, the authors suggested the principles for the use of this technology, formulating a mechanism called the V2G Program. Within this Program, the V2G Service was defined and a business model of its implementation by a participant of the V2G Program (uEV) was presented. In addition, an uEV selection algorithm is provided so that the mathematical model of the V2G Service can be validated. Based on the performed simulations, it can be concluded that the implementation of the V2G Program requires significant changes in the Polish energy law, but it is feasible from the technical point of view.

Abstract This study aims at presenting the legally, technically, and economically empowered suggestion for a clear definition of a competitive market of gas fuels and electricity of a Member State in order to be utilized within trans-border trade of these utilities, as required by the European Union (EU) legislation. Thus, this study addresses, first of all, the issue of the division of the national gas fuel and electricity market into sections and separating these market segments that are more susceptible to the existence of competition in the trans-border dimension. This division is a model that reflects every internal market that is self-sufficient and distinguished in technical terms which has been established and is functioning within one or more Member States. The suggested structural, subject-related division of the market into sections, a competitive one (with its segments), a balancing one, and a technical one, makes it possible to determine which fragments of the market prevail over merely the technical security of ensuring continuity and quality of electricity supplies at the national level. Public forms of electricity and gas fuel trading take first place. Thus, second, the issues of legal and business conditions for operation in the energy section of the commodity exchange, regulated market, or open tenders for purchase of energy and interdependence between public forms of electricity or fuel gas trading and standards in the common electricity market have become the subject of this study. The advantage of a commodity exchange that establishes transparent conditions for public trading transactions involving these goods and provides pricing information for actors in the market cannot be overestimated. A commodity exchange enhances competition and is instrumental in the reduction of prices for ultimate clients. The completed analysis aims at reviewing public forms of trading as the instruments for achievement of the objectives of the national energy law and a component for a common energy market in the perspective of development of trans-border transmission capabilities. Legal multi-centricity and multi-aspectual nature of the addressed issues form a structure of relations that has affected the selection of the research methodology. Three research methods were adopted as the main principles that, bearing in mind a different context in which they are used, are treated to be complementary. The first one is an interdisciplinary research analysis, taking account of the context of functioning in the EU law environment in the interpretation of the national law provisions and technical sciences (and thus, e.g., laws of physics, properties of energy, technical aspects of functioning of the power industry as a system of interdependent relations of installations and grids) and economic sciences (e.g., a concept of the market, competition, operation of the commodity exchange). References to technical or economic sciences allowed to maintain the clarity of the above considerations and render the addressed issues better in practice. The legal and dogmatic method is an indispensable supplement of the above method; in this method, the process of interpretation of legal regulations is based on the jurisprudence and case law which should be referred, in particular, to the national law; it is made complete by the analysis of the economic practice. The selection of the concept analysis method (a linguistic one) as the third method should be justified by the undertaken attempts to define in a precise manner the content and the scope of meaning of general, generic concepts making references, as a rule, to a broad spectrum of business operations, the application of which in the EU legislation is a feature of this legal order established on the basis of the elements of the continental (established, statute) law and flexible common law.

Defence date: 18/05/2009
Examining board: Wladyslaw Czaplinski (Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw); Leigh Hancher (Tilburg University); Heike Schweitzer (EUI); Jacques Ziller (Supervisor, EUI)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
In many EU countries, the infrastructure for supplying electricity and gas (electricity networks, gas pipelines, and storage facilities) are still properties of the so-called vertically integrated undertakings (VIU) responsible for the extraction or generation, supply, and transmission and distribution of the energy. While competition can be promoted in the generation/production and supply side of the vertical integration, transmission and distribution segments remain natural monopolies that hinder market mechanisms. Vertical integration simply raises the possibility for incumbents to favor their own divisions and to block new entrants. As a result, the Electricity and Gas Directives of the European Commission proposed several measures to foster competition in politically delicate structures of the electricity and gas markets. These measures involve non-discriminatory third party access to the gas and electricity infrastructure, independent regulation of the natural monopolies and the unbundling of the VIU. Unfortunately, my research shows that there are still many obstacles to fulfilling the potential of the internal market in electricity and gas. What is more since substantial delays have occurred in implementing the Directives, it is difficult to clearly evaluate what the final effect will be; nevertheless, it is possible to argue that the steps already taken are insufficient to create functional market.

Defence date: 9 May 2016
Examining Board: Professor Giorgio Monti (Supervisor), European University Institute; Professor Eric Brousseau, Paris-Dauphine University; Professor Angus Johnston, University College Oxford; Professor Pierre Larouche, Tilburg University.
The Thesis analyses the impact of the regulation of radio spectrum and energy resources in the liberalisation of wireless communications and electricity in the European Union (EU). The answer to this inquiry presupposes a discussion of three sub-questions: (i) what is the competence of the EU to regulate the radio spectrum and energy resources ("the power gap"); (ii) is there a gap in the regulation of natural resources ("the regulatory gap"); and (iii) how has the Commission used other instruments, particularly competition law, to bridge the two gaps? The Introduction presents the institutional economics approach that guides the reader throughout the Thesis. It builds upon Williamson's four levels of institutional analysis and argues that the way in which access to natural resources is structured ("level 2" of institutional analysis), deeply impacts the regulatory design of the network industries and the way in which the Commission shapes the application of competition law. Its purpose is not to present an ideal system of resource management but rather to highlight that all institutional decisions bear costs, and that, in the absence of level 2 interventions, the Commission has used imperfect alternative solutions, such as competition law, to bridge the regulatory and power gaps.

The transfer of energy and water utilities to private or state owned corporations raises important questions of service obligations, access, and dispute resolution for small end customers. The aim of this thesis is to explore the legal issues that confront small end users and service providers in what is a highly regulated market environment. This thesis examines the duties and obligations of energy service providers in terms of the product being fit for its expected purpose and in a manner not causing economic loss to the user. Correspondingly, the thesis examines also the rights and obligations of the user. These respective rights and liabilities of the parties are examined by reference to contracts law, consumer protection law under the Trade Practices Act, torts law and adjudication powers of the Ombudsman. The term “user” in this context refers to the small end-user, even though the analytical framework used in this thesis can, with appropriate modifications be also used in relation to others in the provider-user relationship identified here. With this in mind, the thesis examines: (1) whether the legal mechanisms created by national and state legislation and the regulatory regime have enhanced consumer sovereignty and reinforced small end customer rights relative to the old regime of franchised monopolies; and (2) whether, the legal tradition of reasonable care with its roots in interpersonal equity has been undermined by economic criteria. Despite Governments relinquishing ownership of production, transmission and distribution of energy supplies to the corporate sector, the State remains as a significant presence as a regulator of essential public utility services. Essential service utilities occupy too important a place in the social well being of society for governments to abandon them to the vagaries of market economics. Given the difficulties the courts have had of establishing reasonable care as applied to government or semi-government utilities, an important legal issue is, what is the appropriate standard of liability for negligence which should be applied to the highly regulated private and state owned service corporations which have no immunities under the Crown? In this regard, the thesis is concerned with the legal responsibility under both common law and statute to small end users for everyday power disturbances, failure to supply, and defective supply causing property damage or economic loss. In this context the basic arguments set out in the Thesis are as follows: Chapter 1 sets the background to the thesis. Chapter 2 examines regulation and the national electricity market with emphasis on the role of the Australian Energy Regulator, the Rules of the market and the liability exclusion clauses contained in the National Electricity Law. It argues that the complicated commercial and statutory structure of the market is beyond the legal ability of a small end user to challenge a negligent action of a market participant. Chapter 3 takes up the issue of whether under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) a strict liability regime should apply to service providers as argued in the Electricity Supply Association of Australia v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission case.1 It argues that electricity as “goods” (s. 4) should be subject to strict liability for defective supply. Chapter 4 examines standard form connection and supply contracts which are deemed (unseen and unsigned) to exist between service providers and small end customers. It concludes that liability exclusion clauses deny the small end customer common law contractual justice. Chapter 5 focuses on the impact of civil liability legislation in negligence, the rationalist concept of care and safety, and decision tree analysis in causation. It is considered that the legislation severely restricts the ability of the small end user to access the legal system when dealing with corporate energy providers. Chapter 6 looks at economic loss in respect of the loss of energy supplies. It argues that the common law regime does not assist the small end consumer as one of a large indeterminate class of plaintiffs who cannot recover. Chapter 7 examines the jurisdiction of the Energy Ombudsman scheme. It argues that whilst there is some scope to provide compensation to small end users, the capacity is both limited and small in amount. Chapter 8 provides some concluding arguments. The research concludes that the legal and regulatory mechanisms governing the disaggregated energy supply industry has failed to provide adequate protection for small end users. It is concluded that in the context of the existing regime, the small end user of energy services is not only disadvantaged but disenfranchised.