The first certificate in Poland to confirm the fulfillment of the criteria of independence provided for in Art. 9d Sec. 1a of the Energy Law was issued to PSE on June 4, 2014 by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office. This was the culmination of several months of work in which PSE was supported by Dentons lawyers: Arkadiusz Krasnodebski, Wojciech Boguslawski, Michal Motylewski and Zbigniew Stasiak.
The certificate confirms PSE’s independence in terms of its legal form, organization and decision making from other business activities unrelated to transmission. This certificate is a pre-condition for applying for the status of a transmission system operator. This is all the more important for PSE, as PSE’s status as a transmission system operator expires on July 1, 2014.
The provisions imposing the obligation to apply for and obtain a certificate of independence were introduced to Polish law by Directive 2009/72/EC of July 13, 2009, concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC. The purpose of these provisions is, among other things, to ensure the security of supply of electricity, where the independence of operators is a pivotal issue.
Administrative proceedings to certificate independence are conducted by the Energy Regulatory Office (URE). They are initiated at the request of the owner of a transmission grid or an electricity undertaking licensed to conduct business activities involving the transmission of electricity, which fulfills the duties of an operator pursuant to an agreement signed with the transmission network owner. In the course of the proceedings the Office checks whether the applicant for the certificate of independence fulfills the statutory criteria for independence. This entity may not, whether directly or indirectly, have a decisive impact on or exercise other rights in relation to an electricity undertaking involved in the generation of or trading in electricity, or in relation to a transmission system operator. It cannot appoint members of the supervisory board, the management board or other authorities authorized to represent the undertaking, neither can it act as a member of its supervisory board, management board or other authorities representing the undertaking. The draft decision is subject to the European Commission’s opinion. The European Commission issued a positive opinion on the draft decision in the present matter in April.
- The issuance of the certificate of independence by PSE is an unquestionable success and opens the way for PSE to reapply for the status of transmission system operator- said Arkadiusz Krasnodebski, Dentons Managing Partner and energy market expert. -This is a good cause for satisfaction for Dentons as legal counsel as well. We will support PSE in proceedings aimed at obtaining the status of transmission system operator in Poland.
