Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (recast) (Text with EEA relevance.)

Article 66

Derogations

Small isolated systems and France, for the purpose of Corsica, may also apply for a derogation from Articles 4, 5 and 6.

The Commission shall inform the Member States of such applications before taking a decision, taking into account respect for confidentiality.

For outermost regions within the meaning of Article 349 TFEU, that cannot be interconnected with the Union electricity markets, the derogation shall not be limited in time and shall be subject to conditions aimed to ensure that the derogation does not hamper the transition towards renewable energy.

Decisions to grant derogations shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

For the purposes of point (b) of Article 43(1), the notion ‘undertaking performing any of the functions of generation or supply’ shall not include final customers who perform any of the functions of generation and/or supply of electricity, either directly or via undertakings over which they exercise control, either individually or jointly, provided that the final customers including their shares of the electricity produced in controlled undertakings are, on an annual average, net consumers of electricity and provided that the economic value of the electricity they sell to third parties is insignificant in proportion to their other business operations.

By way of derogation from Article 54(2), Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania may allow their transmission system operators and transmission system operators related undertakings to own, develop, manage and operate energy storage facilities without following an open, transparent and non-discriminatory tendering procedure and may allow such energy storage facilities to buy or sell electricity in the balancing markets.

The derogations referred to in the first and second subparagraphs shall apply for up to three years after Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have joined the Continental Europe Synchronous Area. Where necessary to preserve security of supply, the Commission may grant an extension of the initial three-year period by a maximum of five years.

The derogation referred to in the first subparagraph shall apply until the transmission system in Cyprus is connected to other Member States’ transmission systems via interconnection.

Article 66a

Access to affordable energy during an electricity price crisis

• (a) the existence of very high average prices in wholesale electricity markets of at least two and a half times the average price during the previous five years, and at least 180 EUR/MWh which is expected to continue for at least six months, the calculation of the average price during the previous five years not taking into account those periods where a regional or Union-wide electricity price crisis was declared;

• (b) sharp increases in electricity retail prices in the range of 70 % occur which are expected to continue for at least three months.

• (a) be limited to at most 70 % of the beneficiary’s consumption during the same period of the previous year and retain an incentive for demand reduction;

• (b) comply with the conditions set out in Article 5(4) and (7);

• (c) where relevant, comply with the conditions set out in paragraph 7 of this Article;

• (d) be designed to minimise any negative fragmentation of the internal market.

• (a) the price set for household customers only applies, at most, to 80 % of median household consumption and retains an incentive for demand reduction;

• (b) there is no discrimination between suppliers;

• (c) suppliers are compensated for supplying below cost in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner;

• (d) all suppliers are eligible to provide offers for the price for the supply of electricity which is below cost on the same basis;

• (e) measures proposed do not distort the internal electricity market.

The Commission shall continuously assess and monitor the impact resulting from any measures adopted under this Article and publish on a regular basis the results of such assessments.

Article 67

Exercise of the delegation

Article 68

Committee procedure

Article 69

Commission monitoring, reviewing and reporting

The Commission’s review shall, in particular, assess the service quality offered to final customers and whether customers, especially vulnerable customers and customers affected by energy poverty, are adequately protected under this Directive.

Article 71

Transposition

However, Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with:

• (a) point (5)(a) of Article 70 by 31 December 2019;

• (b) point (4) of Article 70 by 25 October 2020.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. They shall also include a statement that references in existing laws, regulations and administrative provisions to the Directive repealed by this Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made and how that statement is to be formulated.

Article 72

Repeal

Directive 2009/72/EC is repealed with effect from 1 January 2021, without prejudice to the obligations of Member States relating to the time-limit for the transposition into national law and the date of application of the Directive set out in Annex III.

References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table set out in Annex IV.

Article 73

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 6 (1), Article 7 (2) to (5), Article 8(1), points (a) to (i) and (k) of Article 8(2) and Article 8(3) and (4), Article 9(1), (3), (4) and (5), Article 10(2) to (10), Articles 25, 27, 30, 35 and 37, Article 38(1), (3) and (4), Articles 39, 41, 43, 44 and 45, Article 46(1), points (a), (b) and (c) and (e) to (h) of Article 46(2), Article 46(3) to (6), Article 47 to 50, Articles 52, 53, 55, 56, 60, 64 and 65 shall apply from 1 January 2021.

Points (1) to (3), (5)(b) and (6) of Article 70 shall apply from 1 January 2021.

Point (5)(a) of Article 70 shall apply from 1 January 2020.

Point (4) of Article 70 shall apply from 26 October 2020.

Article 74

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

ANNEX I

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR BILLING AND BILLING INFORMATION

1. Minimum information to be contained on the bill and in the billing information

• 1.1.The following key information shall be prominently displayed to final customers in their bills, distinctly separate from other parts of the bill:

• (a) the price to be paid and a breakdown of the price where possible, together with a clear statement that all energy sources may also benefit from incentives that were not financed through the levies indicated in the breakdown of the price;

• (b) the date on which payment is due.

• 1.2.The following key information shall be prominently displayed to final customers in their bills and billing information, distinctly separate from other parts of the bill and billing information:

• (a) electricity consumption for the billing period;

• (b) the name and contact details of the supplier, including a consumer support hotline and email address;

• (c) the tariff name;

• (d) the end date of the contract, if applicable;

• (e) the information on the availability and benefits of switching;

• (f) the final customer's switching code or unique identification code for the final customer's supply point;

• (g) information on final customers' rights as regards out-of-court dispute settlement, including the contact details of the entity responsible pursuant to Article 26;

• (h) the single point of contact referred to in Article 25;

• (i) a link or reference to where comparison tools referred to in Article 14 can be found.

• 1.3.Where bills are based on actual consumption or remote reading by the operator, the following information shall be made available to final customers in, with or signposted to within their bills and periodic settlement bills:

• (a) comparisons of the final customer's current electricity consumption with the final customer's consumption for the same period in the previous year in graphic form;

• (b) contact information for consumer organisations, energy agencies or similar bodies, including website addresses, from which information may be obtained on available energy efficiency improvement measures for energy-using equipment;

• (c) comparisons with an average normalised or benchmarked final customer in the same user category.

• 1. Frequency of billing and the provision of billing information:

• (a) billing on the basis of actual consumption shall take place at least once a year;

• (b) where the final customer does not have a meter that allows remote reading by the operator, or where the final customer has actively chosen to disable remote reading in accordance with national law, accurate billing information based on actual consumption shall be made available to the final customer at least every six months, or once every three months, if requested or where the final customer has opted to receive electronic billing;

• (c) where the final customer does not have a meter that allows remote reading by the operator, or where the final customer has actively chosen to disable remote reading in accordance with national law, the obligations in points (a) and (b) may be fulfilled by means of a system of regular self-reading by the final customer, whereby the final customer communicates readings from the meter to the operator; billing or billing information may be based on estimated consumption or a flat rate only where the final customer has not provided a meter reading for a given billing interval;

• (d) where the final customer has a meter that allows remote reading by the operator, accurate billing information based on actual consumption shall be provided at least every month; such information may also be made available via the internet, and shall be updated as frequently as allowed by the measurement devices and systems used.

• 1. Breakdown of the final customer's price

The customer's price is the sum of the following three components: the energy and supply component, the network component (transmission and distribution) and the component comprising taxes, levies, fees and charges.

Where a breakdown of the final customer's price is presented in bills, the common definitions of the three components in that breakdown established under Regulation (EU) 2016/1952 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0015]) shall be used throughout the Union.

• 1. Access to complementary information on historical consumption

Member States shall require that, to the extent that complementary information on historical consumption is available, such information is made available, at the request of the final customer, to the supplier or service provider designated by the final customer.

Where the final customer has a meter that allows remote reading by the operator installed, the final customer shall have easy access to complementary information on historical consumption allowing detailed self-checks.

Complementary information on historical consumption shall include:

• (a) cumulative data for at least the three previous years or the period since the start of the electricity supply contract, if that period is shorter. The data shall correspond to the intervals for which frequent billing information has been produced; and

• (b) detailed data according to the time of use for any day, week, month and year, which is made available to the final customer without undue delay via the internet or the meter interface, covering the period of at least the previous 24 months or the period since the start of the electricity supply contract, if that period is shorter.

• 1. Disclosure of energy sources

Suppliers shall specify in bills the contribution of each energy source to the electricity purchased by the final customer in accordance with the electricity supply contract (product level disclosure).

The following information shall be made available to final customers in, with, or signposted to within their bills and billing information:

• (a) the contribution of each energy source to the overall energy mix of the supplier (at national level, namely in the Member State in which the electricity supply contract has been concluded, as well as at the level of the supplier if the supplier is active in several Member States) over the preceding year in a comprehensible and clearly comparable manner;

• (b) information on the environmental impact, in at least terms of CO2 emissions and the radioactive waste resulting from the electricity produced by the overall energy mix of the supplier over the preceding year.

As regards point (a) of the second subparagraph, with respect to electricity obtained via an electricity exchange or imported from an undertaking situated outside the Union, aggregate figures provided by the exchange or the undertaking in question over the preceding year may be used.

For the disclosure of electricity from high efficiency cogeneration, guarantees of origin issued under Article 14(10) of Directive 2012/27/EU may be used. The disclosure of electricity from renewable sources shall be done by using guarantees of origin, except in the cases referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 19(8) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001.

The regulatory authority or another competent national authority shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the information provided by suppliers to final customers pursuant to this point is reliable and is provided at a national level in a clearly comparable manner.

ANNEX II

SMART METERING SYSTEMS

• 1.Member States shall ensure the deployment of smart metering systems in their territories that may be subject to an economic assessment of all of the long-term costs and benefits to the market and the individual consumer or which form of smart metering is economically reasonable and cost-effective and which time frame is feasible for their distribution.

• 2.Such assessment shall take into consideration the methodology for the cost-benefit analysis and the minimum functionalities for smart metering systems provided for in Commission Recommendation 2012/148/EU ([^E0016]) as well as the best available techniques for ensuring the highest level of cybersecurity and data protection.

• 3.Subject to that assessment, Member States or, where a Member State has so provided, the designated competent authority, shall prepare a timetable with a target of up to ten years for the deployment of smart metering systems. Where the deployment of smart metering systems is assessed positively, at least 80 % of final customers shall be equipped with smart meters either within seven years of the date of the positive assessment or by 2024 for those Member States that have initiated the systematic deployment of smart metering systems before 4 July 2019.

ANNEX III

TIME-LIMIT FOR TRANSPOSITION INTO NATIONAL LAW AND DATE OF APPLICATION

(REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 72)

ANNEX IV

CORRELATION TABLE

[^E0001]: Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 349).

[^E0002]: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1348/2014 of 17 December 2014 on data reporting implementing Article 8(2) and Article 8(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and the Council on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (OJ L 363, 18.12.2014, p. 121).

[^E0003]: Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 on energy efficiency and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/955 (OJ L 231, 20.9.2023, p. 1).

[^E0004]: Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19).

[^E0005]: Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82).

[^E0006]: Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 64).

[^E0007]: Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts (OJ L 95, 21.4.1993, p. 29).

[^E0008]: Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35).

[^E0009]: Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Directive on consumer ADR) (OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p. 63).

[^E0010]: Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1485 of 2 August 2017 establishing a guideline on electricity transmission system operation (OJ L 220, 25.8.2017, p. 1).

[^E0011]: Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (OJ L 307, 28.10.2014, p. 1).

[^E0012]: Directive (EU) 2017/1132 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 relating to certain aspects of company law (OJ L 169, 30.6.2017, p. 46).

[^E0013]: Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 May 2022 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2009, (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2019/943 and Directives 2009/73/EC and (EU) 2019/944, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 (OJ L 152, 3.6.2022, p. 45).

[^E0014]: Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1719 of 26 September 2016 establishing a guideline on forward capacity allocation (OJ L 259, 27.9.2016, p. 42).

[^E0015]: Regulation (EU) 2016/1952 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on European statistics on natural gas and electricity prices and repealing Directive 2008/92/EC (OJ L 311, 17.11.2016, p. 1).

[^E0016]: Commission Recommendation 2012/148/EU of 9 March 2012 on preparations for the roll-out of smart metering systems (OJ L 73, 13.3.2012, p. 9).