Fuel mix disclosure

Under current labeling refers to the legally required information to end users of electricity over its production. It includes the percentage breakdown of energy sources from which electricity is generated, which is delivered to the end user. The preparation of these shares is also called mix and can refer to a particular product, as. Well as to the mix of a supplier The current labeling of individual suppliers has to face each the national average in the publication.

• 4.1 Current labeling in Austria

Legal situation

Legal situation in the EU

The EU Directive 2009/72/EC ( Electricity Directive ) requires an identification to the end consumer. According to Article 3, No. 9 a) the mix of the previous year shall be marked in a national level, clearly comparable manner, according to Article 3, No. 9) shall provide information regarding the environmental effects ( at least CO2 emissions and radioactive waste ) from the generated electricity of the overall fuel mix of the supplier will be made ​​publicly available.

Legal situation in Germany

In Germany, the legal framework for the electricity labeling in § 42 of the Energy Act ( Energy Act ) for the electricity supplied and in accordance with § 54 of the Renewable Energy Sources Act ( EEG) are regulated for the mandatory reportable fraction of the pumped EEG current. For the EU - Directive 2009/72/EC has been implemented. The electricity supplier must (hereinafter referred to Law ultimate consumers ) specify at the annual electricity bill and on all promotional materials as a current identification for the end user. Belong to the mix of the electricity supplier directly marketed renewable energy ( ie no EEG power ), so it must use certificates of origin and devalue the Federal Environment Agency. This obligation applies acc. § 66 paragraph 9 EEG and § 118 paragraph 5 of the Energy Act since the date of commissioning of the proof of origin register ( HKNR ) www.hknr.de the Federal Environment Agency on 1 January 2013. This means a change of power bill read the information under § 42 of the Energy Act no later than November 2014. the current labeling must be updated later than 1 November of one year to the values ​​of the previous year.

According to § 42 of the Energy Act No. 2, the information must be presented in an appropriate user-friendly size and visualized graphically. This information, in particular on the environmental impact, allow current customers to assess the "quality" of electricity production. The following data must be determined and published:

• The mix of the company ( retailer mix, also called Lieferantenmix ), which summarizes all customers of the distributor, which are end-users. If a specific product is offered with different fuel mix ( product mix, such as " 100% hydropower ") must also be specified for this product and for the remaining fuel mix of the contribution of each energy carrier.
• Information on environmental impacts per kilowatt hour. Carbon dioxide emissions are determined specific system. The amount of radioactive waste for electricity from nuclear power plants is calculated using the nationally standardized factor 0.0027 g / kWh.
• Nationwide averages for all the details so that a comparison is possible

For current unknown origin, also called gray power, according to the Energy Act, § 42, paragraph 4: "At current levels, which can not be clearly generating side, associated with a referred to in paragraph 1, point 1 of energy, is the ENTSO-E energy mix for Germany after deduction of to place referred to in paragraph 5, point 1 and 2 to be reported shares of electricity from renewable energy sources as a basis. extent possible with reasonable effort, the ENTSO -E mix prior to use is to clean up so far that also other double counting of amounts of electricity can be avoided. "

The identification of the sources relates only to the Lieferantenmix, but not on the energy balance and the assigned control energy to which the providers have no influence. That is, even if a customer buys 100% hydropower, he paid over the control energy and gray power, so under certain circumstances, electricity from nuclear and coal power plants.

It is the physical property of electricity, always take the shortest route. Therefore, each customer buys from the grid operator on the grid always flow from the nearest power plants. The current labeling refers only to the paid by the customer feed that he has assigned the balance sheet of the supplier. Since the source of production to the socket is no longer recognizable, the proof of origin register for electricity from renewable energy sources and labeling have been introduced to avoid double marketing.

Functioning in practice

The guideline " current labeling " by the Federal Association of Energy and Water describes the exact process of accounting and labeling for electric utilities. Thus the current marking remains reliable even when the power is re-sold several times before he comes to the end consumer, are in electricity generation receipts, so called guarantees of origin, issued. These confirm that a certain amount of electrical energy produced in a certain way. guarantee of origin shall be managed in each Member State of the EU in central registers, to avoid that the same amount of power produced can be sold more than once. the Federal Environment Agency is responsible for issuing guarantees of origin for electricity produced in Germany from renewable energy sources and to transfer certificates of origin in foreign countries ( export) and from abroad ( import) and devalue of origin, which are used for electricity labeling. , when the Federal Environment Agency doubt as to the has accuracy, reliability, or truthfulness of the guarantee of origin from abroad, it may refuse to recognize and import. This electronic register is similar to an online banking system. Users of the register log on using an online portal and manage their guarantees of origin via an account view. In the origin detection register ( HKNR ) the Federal Environment Agency manages the entire life of the guarantee of origin. It provides the guarantees of origin from, transfer, import, export, and canceled it.

When selling the evidence of origin the Federal Environment Agency it is transferred to the account of the buyer. The Federal Environment Agency devalued Guarantees of origin of electricity supply undertakings (RUs ) that provide electricity to consumers. After the devaluation of origin can not be traded or used for other purposes. The end user and current customer can even devalue not guarantees of origin, current customers are not Participants tab.

In countries with EU compliant power labeling the current provider must use origin for the expulsion of electricity from renewable sources, which must be validated for this purpose. The accuracy of current labeling for renewable energy is checked by the proof of origin registers the Federal Environment Agency.

Values ​​in Germany

According AGEB delivered in 2013, nuclear power 15.4% of gross electricity consumption. Among the fossil fuels ( 57.1 %) include brown coal ( 25.8 %), coal ( 19.7%), natural gas (10.5% ) and other ( 1.1%, for example, petroleum ). Among the renewable energy sources ( 23.4 %) include wind (7.9%), water (3.4%) and solar (4.5%), biomass (6.8 %) and the biogenic portion of municipal waste (0.8%). In other energy sources accounted for 4.1%.

2007 came to 0.9% of electricity consumption from older hydropower plants, the greater part (14.2%) but was promoted under the Renewable Energy Act and must be purchased by each electricity provider. Accordingly, only significantly higher values ​​indicate an intentional eco-friendly purchasing policy. Current, which is to buy at a power exchange, must be proportionately calculated into the details.

The table lists the nationwide average electricity mix and the details of the five largest energy suppliers and the four largest independent green electricity provider on ( date of origin of the data is specified individually ); It is important to note that the values ​​of individual utilities is the Durchschnnitt for the sale and not the generation of these utilities (see also Section criticism )

Criticism

The current marking was required by environmental and consumer advocates have long and welcomes their introduction. Nevertheless, the data do not meet all expectations and do not offer the best possible transparency.

Criticism is partly that the energy summarized in Germany in only three large groups and are not broken down in more detail. For example, gas-fired, high-efficiency combined heat and power plants with old lignite power plants, or solar systems be equated with hydroelectric plants. The added value when generating heat from CHP plants is not taken into account when calculating the amount of CO2.

Another major point of criticism concerns the use of energy that can be associated with a specific type of production, colloquially gray stream, eg, purchased at the current exchange rates. Under current arrangements, these quantities, the overall mix of power exchange, or Durchschnittsmix for Germany are assigned. These values ​​may differ significantly from the generated Mix and open up the electricity suppliers the opportunity to the type of production of electricity from unpopular sources (eg, nuclear energy) calculated to conceal by this is sold on the stock market and bought back directly. The price listed in the current labeling mix thus does not match the composition of powered by the electricity supplier power plants.

Basically, the mix is only roughly approximate what current was actually delivered to the consumer. Since electricity can not be stored as such, must be at all times the production and consumption of equal size. A factually correct current labeling would attribute for all times the electrical power currently produced in various types of power plants to consumers in accordance with applicable contractual relations and summing up. However, this is not the case:

• The origin of the peak load current must not be declared. Instead, the provider may, for example, divide electricity from baseload power plants constructed on the client group. Electricity, which is sold as a " 100% hydropower ," does not really come at any time from hydropower plants. The mix only states that the total electrical energy consumed, as seen for over a year, generating a corresponding faces (quantity of simultaneous feeding ).

• The electricity provider must not publish the related amount of balancing energy. Neither quantity nor type of balancing energy flow into the current marking.

• The unavoidable transmission losses in the amount of about 5 to 10% of the electrical energy supplied will be replaced by the network operators and stay in the mix of the electricity supplier disregarded. For example, should a provider of 100 % green electricity actually feed 105 to 110 % green electricity into the grid, so that its customers do not consume electricity from conventional power plants. However, this is not feasible due to the current conditions in practice.

Some experts state that the current labeling is a farce, since it could not be assigned by exchange trading, direct purchase or sell to other traders and sold to different groups of end users, the proportion of the supplied stream its origin and the reported figures are hypothetical.

Also criticized is the specification of a product mix, because this leads to major customers such as industry and government, where the origin of electricity not care less "dirty " electricity is sold while the current now separately from environmentally friendly power plants, surcharge on sensitive end users is sold. On the other hand, would be of an abolition of the product mix but also customers of green electricity providers that offer electricity in all price negatively affected as a customer from the retailer mix, which is the average, can not know exactly what electricity it with the payment of the invoice supported. It would also be concerned that a ban on the product mix could be easily circumvented by the creation of independent subsidiaries.

Global 2000 and Greenpeace demand that not only the remote to end-users energy is declared, but the entire trade amount. Customers should know if their provider in the trade of nuclear power makes profits, for example. The implementation of this requirement is difficult because the trading anonymously, without proof of origin, carried out and because the trade quantity - as opposed to the actual quantities sold - by buying and selling can be arbitrarily large, that is, would the proportions of each type of production by some business almost arbitrarily manipulated.

The current labeling may also affect consumer behavior: Some customers believe that saving electricity is not so important if they can supply you with 100 % hydropower and 100 % green electricity. However, most vendors do not have enough generation capacity to meet peak loads, or they have no power plants that can adapt to consumption. In this case, can lead to boot up a conventional power plant any additional consumption during peak load time, de facto, which although nothing is declared in the mix.

The method of calculation of radioactive waste is not regulated by law in Germany, but leave the power providers. Their Federal Association of Energy and Water Resources has agreed that only the spent fuel should be included in calculating the amount (20-25 per nuclear power plant and year t). Low-and intermediate -level radioactive wastes are left out. This leads to the specification of a relatively small amount of waste of 0.0027 g / kWh for electricity from nuclear energy. In some other European countries, much higher amounts of waste are given based on other calculation methods. Thus, a factor of 0.010 g / kWh is used for example in the UK, is set by the Department of Energy. By far the largest proportion of radioactive waste will only apply after the end of operation of a nuclear power plant. However, this waste also is not included in the factor used by the Federal Association of Energy and Water. So 13.8 billion kWh of electricity were generated, for example in block A of the nuclear power plant Gundremmingen and the dismantling in 1400 are incurred t radioactive waste. This corresponds to a radioactive waste amount of 0.101 g / kWh.

The presentation of the radioactive waste is not regulated by law in Germany. The European Commission recommends to specify the amount of radioactive waste in micrograms / kWh. The combined German Federal Association of Energy and Water electricity suppliers, however, have agreed to use the unit g / kWh. The numerical value is reduced by a factor of 1,000,000, and the amount of waste is optically reduced.

Electricity labeling in Austria

Global 2000 and Greenpeace came to the study of business reports and telephone research to the conclusion:

• Eight of the nine provincial companies act with nuclear power, declare to their end customers but only a little or no amount.
• Nuclear power is declared by buying the relevant power generation certificates as hydroelectricity, without the utilities have ever based electricity from these hydropower plants. The certificates are mainly from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Spain. These are countries where hydropower producers need the certificates, not because there lacks an EU - compliant power marking. In 2004 Austrian power company RECS certificates bought in the amount of 7.2 billion kWh. This represents around 10% of total electricity consumption in Austria.

The utilities have not objected to these claims.

The Austrian Electricity Industry and Organisation Act ( Electricity Act ) mandates that electricity suppliers must disclose, " was primary energy sources ... generates the electrical energy supplied by them " from which ( § 45 paragraph 2). As this proof must be provided, the regulatory authority E -Control has to be determined. In the opinion of critics, it has failed in this matter: The ElWOG say unequivocally that the application of the energy suppliers and not the production is somewhere else in the world to declare. E-Control should power generation certificates from countries that have the EU Directive on electricity labeling not yet implemented, do not recognize. Currently, would both the Austrian electricity customers and the electricity customers in the countries from which the certificates, believe, to get clean electricity from hydropower, which is not the reality.

This system, which separates the proof of origin of the electricity from trade with the stream itself is also generally criticized. A gap is that for the share of "Power of unknown origin " is defined in the current labeling is no upper limit. This would allow suppliers whose customers are not as close attention to the declared power mix (because it already almost entirely hydropower plants are in their country ), their power generation certificates sell utilities in those countries that have conscious customers.