Management of the Hungarian Energy Office - Magyar Energia Hivatal

hungarian energy office
REGULATION OF DISTRICT HEAT PRODUCTION
REGULATION
Licensing
The activities of district heat production and supply are still
subject to license. The establishment of district heat production
facilities is subject to license only over a heat output of 5
MW. Licensing competence is distributed between the local
governments and HEO. All district heat generators that also
generate electricity must apply for a license to HEO, while
district heat generating activity without electricity generation
falls under the authority of the local governments.
The licensing and supervision of district heat suppliers has
been transferred as a whole to the notary of local governments.
The tasks of consumer protection are provided for by the
inspectorates for consumer protection. The setting of consumer
tariffs remained within the authority of the representative
council of the local governments of settlements, and in the case
of Budapest, of the metropolitan municipality. Before setting
the tariffs, the Minister of Transport, Telecommunication and
Energy gave its opinion on the prices of district heat supply,
this, however, was abandoned from 1 July 2009, and the
District Heat Competitiveness Act (amending in this subject
the District Heat Act) extended the authority of HEO to the
price control of the district heat supply. HEO has a twofold
responsibility in the enforcement of the Act:
• To conduct the price control procedure initiated by the
district heat supplier with the purpose of changing the
district heat connection fee and the prices of the residential
district heat supply;
• Administrative control launched ex offi cio:
- to conduct a price control procedure at the district heat
suppliers to supervise the district heat connection fee and
the price of the residential district heat supply;
- to conduct a price control procedure that aims to
supervise the price determined in the contract of the
district heat producer and the district heat supplier.
District heat and electricity licensing procedure of power
plants under 50 MW
The licensing procedure of small power plants co-generating
heat and electricity (power plant with a nominal electric power
under 50 MW) is different for district heat and for electricity.
• District heat licensing procedure: in the case of the establishment
of a cogeneration equipment with a heat output
of 5 MW or above, the applicant has to apply to HEO for
a license for the establishment of a district heat production
equipment (below 5 MW heat output, the establishment
of a district heat production equipment is not subject to
license). After the establishment of the equipment and
following a successful test loading, the applicant has to
apply for an operational license for district heat production
irrespectively of the capacity.
annual report 2009 | 42
• Electricity licensing procedure: in the case of the establishment
of an electricity generation equipment (including
the establishment of a cogeneration equipment), if the
nominal electric capacity falls between 0.5 and 50 MW,
the applicant has to apply to HEO for a simplifi ed licence
for small power plants. The simplifi ed electricity
generation license relates to the selection of the primary
energy source of small power plants and to the electric
energy generation.
In the case an electric capacity between 0.5 and 50 MW and
in the case of the establishment of power plants based on
combined cycle electricity generation (co-generation) with a
nominal heat output of 5 MW or above, the power plants have
to submit the following applications to HEO in the following
chronological order:
In the period of selecting the primary energy source:
Simplifi ed license for small power plants (on basis of the
Electricity Act)
Before establishment:
License for the establishment of district heat production
equipment (based on the District Heat Act)
After commissioning:
Operational license for district heat production (based on the
District Heat Act)