THIRD-PARTY ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY NETWORKS, CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS IN SUCH MATTER

Between 2007 and 2008, the incentive to renewable energy, and especially to photovoltaic technology, gave place to a considerable number of third-party access conflicts. In such conflicts, the regulator recognized the right of access in general, and interpreted the regulation in the more favorable way to the access right. Since 2009, and progressively until now, cuts to renewable energies motivated less installation of such generation, and thus less conflicts. The most common conflict became the wind farms access to the distribution network with influence on the transport network. The interpretation of the energy regulator favorable to access has been limited by a regulation that has made prevail the interests of safety in the networks operation, a fact which has resulted in the regulation of third party access contained in the Electricity Act 2013.