Defenders of low voltage are finding it hard to make themselves heard. While some of them thought that the draft decree No. 2-24-740 (relating to the setting of technical prescriptions concerning the conditions of connection and access to medium-voltage electricity distribution grids and the rules concerning their use), currently being prepared by the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, was a good opportunity to include Low Voltage, Leïla Benali’s Department has categorically rejected this proposal.
The same is true of the National Electricity Regulatory Authority (ANRE), which is responsible for publishing the code for the national electricity transmission grid, even though it has put forward some solid arguments. The first of these concerns access to the grid. ANRE points out that «in the presentation note of the draft decree, in fact in its second paragraph, it is mentioned that private operators have access to the Very High Voltage, High Voltage and Medium Voltage grids». Except that private operators also have access to the Low Voltage grid « within the framework of law No. 13.09 relating to renewable energies, as amended and supplemented, and of law No. 82-21 relating to self-generation of electricity «points out ANRE. Thus» the grid code to be introduced by draft decree No. 2-24-740 should also cover the LV grid « reads the piece of legislation,
Another argument, and not the least put forward by the National Electricity Regulatory Authority, is that « in order to guarantee transparency and fairness in connection to the LV distribution grid, the scope of Article 11 of Law 48-15 could be extended to include LV grid access requirements». Article 11 of Law 48-15 stipulates that « The national transmission system operator shall draw up a national transmission system code setting out, in a non-discriminatory manner, the technical requirements concerning the conditions for connection and access to the national transmission system, including interconnections, as well as the rules concerning the use of the said system».
In response to these arguments, the Ministry retorted that ‘the opening up of the Low Voltage, under the two new laws No. 40-19 and No. 82-21, is dependent on the publication of the implementation decrees. As a result, the grid code, in its current version focusing on MV distribution grids, will make it possible to guarantee transparency and fairness in connection and access to MV grids, which have already been opened up to investors under the law on renewable energies’. In other words, it will be necessary to wait for the publication of the application texts of laws No. 40-19 and No. 82-21 for private access to the LV grid to be effective.
Aziz DIOUF
