Croatia finally sets grid connection fee

After a delay of more than three and a half years, Croatia has set the electricity grid connection fee, which was one of the main obstacles to investment in renewable energy sources.

The Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA) has adopted the fee for the connection to the electricity network. The decision will come into force on May 1.

The price is determined through an official methodology.

The decision was made possible because all the necessary prerequisites had been met, HERA stressed.

The fee depends on the voltage level

Croatia’s transmission system operator HOPS and distribution system operator HEP-ODS have submitted revised proposals for the fee. In the meantime, HOPS’s ten-year development plan for the transmission network 2025-2034 was amended and approved by the Ministry of Economy and HERA.

This move cleared all doubts regarding the direction of development of the transmission network, the agency added.

An investor or citizen pays a fee for connecting their structure or production facility (a power plant) depending on the connection voltage level (low, medium, high, and very high).

HERA decided that:

• the price for the construction of a connection and enabling technical conditions in the low-voltage grid is EUR 193 per kilowatt (kW)
• the price for the construction of a connection and enabling technical conditions in the medium-voltage network is EUR 96.50 per kW
• the price for enabling technical conditions in the high and very-high voltage networks for a connection to the medium-voltage network is EUR 9.50 per kW
• the price for enabling technical conditions in the high-voltage network is EUR 19 per kW.

The fees are uniform throughout Croatia, so there is no longer a difference between Zagreb and the rest of the country, HERA pointed out.

The agency stressed that it didn’t accept the initial proposals from HEP ODS and HOPS, from early this year, but instead independently introduced lower fees.

Vištica: This directly enables the development of a competitive industry in Croatia

According to Nikola Vištica, President of HERA’s Board of Commissioners, the decision creates optimal conditions for the country’s further economic development.

The lower fees, particularly at higher voltage levels, enable the development of a competitive industry in Croatia by lowering grid connection costs for new industrial facilities, data centres and other energy-intensive network users, Vištica stressed.

These new large electricity consumers will ensure better utilization of the infrastructure, combined with a very high level of interest in the construction of renewable energy plants, he explained.