Croatia eases terms of connection, delivery of surplus power to grid for prosumers

Croatia has improved the conditions for grid access for photovoltaic facilities with a connection capacity of up to 50 kW. In addition, the latest amendments to the relevant law enabled households to keep their self-consumption status when they produce more electricity than they consumed within the one-year billing period.

After a lengthy delay, Croatia enacted the new distribution grid connection rules in September for facilities for the production of electricity from renewable sources of up to 50 kW in connection capacity. Now there is no test period for the category anymore.

In a note for Balkan Green Energy News, the Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia association explained that the procedure for prosumers – end-customer households and enterprises with own production, was substantially eased and accelerated.

The adoption of the regulation will primarily affect the smallest solar power systems.

Administrative process for enterprises is now similar to one for households

The first step is the request to determine the possibility of connecting a small facility.

“In case there is the possibility to connect it, HEP ODS sends an offer for equipping the metering point for billing. Following the payment of the sum from the offer, the request for changing the status of the network user is filed. Based on the received request, HEP ODS issues the permanent operation certificate alongside the updated annex from the grid use contract,” the association noted. HEP ODS is Croatia’s power distribution system operator.

The test period is obligatory only for the systems with batteries or an aggregator that can operate independently of the electricity network

The process is similar to the one from the old rules for connecting households, but now it also applies to firms. Earlier, a new network use contract was supposed to be signed, and now the annex from the contract is updated for the customer.

There is an exception for the customers with own production capacities that can operate independently: they still must undergo a test period. The provision is for the owners of facilities with integrated battery energy storage systems or an aggregator. Such units can be separated from the switch and function without contact with the grid.

Surplus output doesn’t push user into legal persons category anymore

Additionally, in late July the amendments to the Law on Renewable Energy Sources and High-Efficiency Cogeneration came into force. It allowed natural persons to remain within the self-consumption mechanism even in cases when they generated more electricity in total within the year than they consumed, RES Croatia added.

“The earlier law stipulated that at the end of the billing year, if a household has delivered more energy into the network than it drew from it, it was switched to the category of a buyer with own production. In that category are legal persons and the difference is in the billing calculation. Furthermore, customers in the households category had to enter the taxpayer registry and issue monthly bills for the delivery of electricity,” the association said.

However, a household with an output above its consumption pays for the difference in prices under a higher tariff, the one for the enterprises category.