Public Procurement by the Greek Regulatory Authority of Energy regarding the Storage of Energy – Deadline and relevant informations

23Jun

Public Procurement by the Greek Regulatory Authority of Energy regarding the Storage of Energy – Deadline and relevant informations

Energy Law, Latest News , ,

The first of the three total tenders for the storage of electricity energy, which are expected to be announced by the “Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy, and Water” (RAAEW), has been announced. Decision No. E-45/2023 of RAAEW was published in Government Gazette No. 3939/17.06.2023, stating that the total auctioned capacity amounts to 400 MW, and the deadline for submitting bids shall be July 10, 2023.

The most important details of the announcement that every interested party should know, particularly regarding the required documentation and submission deadlines, are as follows:


1. Who can participate?

Natural or legal persons, established legally and domiciled in a member state of the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA), or in Energy Community countries, or in third countries if relevant rights arise from a bilateral agreement that the country has concluded with Greece or the European Union, or have lawfully established a branch in Greece, and hold a License for the Storage of Electrical Energy for Energy Storage Systems (ESS) or an equivalent license issued by the competent authorities of Bulgaria regarding ESS installed in Bulgaria, in accordance with paragraph 1.3 (c) of the procurement. They must also commit to fulfilling the obligations, technical specifications, and requirements of Article 15 and Annex H of the procurement upon the start of ESS operation.

2. What is the maximum allowable bid price?

The maximum allowable bid price for this Competitive Procedure is set at one hundred fifteen thousand euros per megawatt per year (€115,000.00 /MW/year).

3. What criteria must participants meet?

Participants in the Competitive Procedure must cumulatively meet the following criteria and prerequisites:

a) They must hold an Electricity Storage License or an equivalent license issued by the competent authorities of Bulgaria regarding electricity storage facilities, in force and with the following characteristics:

  • They must have a guaranteed (usable) capacity equivalent to a duration of at least two (2) hours (defined as the quotient of the guaranteed capacity of the electricity storage facility, in MWh, divided by its maximum injection power, in MW).
  • They must have a maximum injection power of at least 1 MW, based on their Storage License, according to paragraph 2 of Article 132E of Law 4001/2011, or an equivalent license for electricity storage facilities installed in Bulgaria.
  • They must be connected to the Hellenic Electricity Transmission System (HETS) directly or through Medium Voltage interconnection projects that are not part of the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network (HEDN), or to the electricity transmission system of Bulgaria, as defined in Article 16 of the Ministerial Decision.

For participation in the Competitive Procedure, a Participant can declare the Power and Capacity of Participation, according to the above, as provided in paragraph 3.27 of Article 3 and paragraph 11.1.2 of Article 11. Participation in the Competitive Procedure is not allowed for more than one electricity storage facility resulting from the division of a Storage License, which takes place after the entry into force of the Ministerial Decision.

b) They must not have initiated construction works for the electricity storage facilities before submitting the Application for Participation within the framework of the Competitive Procedure.

4. What is the amount of the Letters of Guarantee (LoG)?

a) The Participation LoG amounts to €35,000 per MW of maximum installed capacity (€35,000/MW). The Participation LoG is submitted in copy in the Electronic Application, and the original Participation Guarantee is deposited with RAE within two (2) days from the expiration of the participation application deadline.

b) The Performance and Timely Execution LoG amounts to €250,000 per MW of maximum installed capacity (€250,000.00/MW) and is a prerequisite for the inclusion of ESS projects in the support scheme. This LoG must be submitted within an exclusive deadline of three (3) months from the issuance of the Final List of Selected, Excluded, and Substitute Participants.

c) The Good Operation LoG amounts to €200,000 per MW of maximum installed capacity (€200,000.00/MW). Subject to the penalties of this provision and Article 16, the amount of the 1st Good Operation LoG is reduced by €100,000 per MW of maximum injection capacity, after five (5) years from the issuance of the operating license of the ESS project.

For the return of the 1st Good Operation LoG and the deposit of the 2nd (reduced) Good Operation LoG, according to section (b), the Selected Participant may submit a request no later than twenty (20) days before the expiration of the deadline for submission to RAE.

The 1st Good Operation LoG is deposited with RAE after the successful completion of the trial operation of the ESS project and is a prerequisite for the issuance of the ESS project’s operating license, while the 2nd Good Operation LoG is deposited with RAE no later than two (2) months before the expiration of the 1st Good Operation Guarantee.

Summary:

Table 1: Summary of terms and conditions of the Competitive Procedure

COMPETITIVE PROCEDURE
Maximum Allowed Bid Price [€/MW/year]115.000
Participation Fee [€]2.500
Participation Letter of Guarantee[€/MW]35.000
Performance Letter of Guarantee [€/MW]*250.000
Good Operation Letter of Guarantee [€/MW]**200.000

* possible adjustment according to paragraph 11.3.2. clause 2(b)

** adjustment upon completion of 5 years of commercial operation according to paragraph 11.3.3. clause 2(b)

Table 2: Timeline of the Competitive Procedure

Submission of Interested Parties’ Inquiries on the Announcement of the Competitive ProcedureFrom the date of issuance of the Announcement in the Official Gazette until June 30, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
Commencement of application submissionFrom the date of publication of the Announcement in the Official Gazette
Deadline for application submissionJuly 10, 2023, 11:59 p.m.
Submission of original Hard Copy of Participation Letter of Guarantee and collection from RAAEWUntil July 12, 2023, 3:00 p.m.
Submission of electronic copy of Participation Letter of Guarantee by the issuing entityUntil July 12, 2023, 3:00 p.m.
Evaluation of applications by RAAEWFrom July 10, 2023, to August 2, 2023
1st Decision of RAE – Provisional List of Selected and Excluded ParticipantsAugust 3, 2023
Submission of ObjectionsAugust 4, 2023, to August 7, 2023, 3:00 p.m.
Evaluation of ObjectionsAugust 7, 2023, to August 9, 2023
2nd Decision of RAE – Final Evaluation Results (Final List of Selected, Excluded, and Substituted Participants) – Participants’ NotificationAugust 10, 2023