Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC^f1, and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 14(10) thereof,

Whereas:

Pursuant to Article 4(1) of Directive 2004/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council^f2, the Commission set out in its Implementing Decision 2011/877/EU^f3 harmonised efficiency reference values for the separate production of electricity and heat, as a matrix of values differentiated by relevant factors, including year of construction and types of fuel. These values are applicable until 31 December 2015.

The Commission has reviewed the harmonised efficiency reference values for the separate production of electricity and heat taking into account data from operational use under realistic conditions, provided by Member States and by stakeholders. As a result of developments in the best available and economically justifiable technology, observed during the review period 2011 to 2015 the distinction drawn in Decision 2011/877/EU relating to the year of construction of a cogeneration unit should be maintained in relation to the harmonised efficiency reference values for separate production of electricity.

The review of the harmonised efficiency reference values confirmed that on the basis of recent experience and analysis, correction factors relating to the climatic situation, as set out in Decision 2011/877/EU, should apply only to plants using gaseous fuels.

That review confirmed, based on recent experience and analysis, that the application of correction factors for avoided grid losses set out in Decision 2011/877/EU should continue. In order to better reflect the avoided losses the voltage limits used and the value of the correction factors need to be updated.

The review has produced evidence to indicate that the harmonised efficiency reference values for the separate production of heat should be modified in some cases. In order to avoid retroactive changes for existing schemes, the new set of reference values only applies from 2016, while the current set of values is kept for plants constructed before that date. No correction factors relating to the climatic situation were required because the thermodynamics of generating heat from fuel do not significantly depend on ambient temperature. In addition, correction factors for heat grid losses are not required as heat is always used near the site of production.

That review has produced evidence indicating that the reference values for the energy efficiency of boilers that produce steam or hot water should be differentiated.

Data from operational use under realistic conditions has demonstrated a statistically significant improvement of the actual performance of state-of-the-art plants using certain types of fuels in the period under review.

Stable conditions for investment in cogeneration and continued investor confidence are needed, therefore it is appropriate to fix harmonised reference values for electricity and heat.

The reference values for the separate production of heat and electricity established in Decision 2011/877/EU are applicable until 31 December 2015, new reference values need to be applied from 1 January 2016. In order to ensure the applicability of the new set of reference values by that date the current Regulation shall enter into force on the first day following its publication.

Articles 14, 22 and 23 of Directive 2012/27/EU empower the Commission to adopt delegated acts updating the harmonised reference values for the separate production of electricity and heat. The delegation of power is conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 4 December 2012. In order to avoid a situation where there was no extension of the delegation of power beyond 4 December 2017, the reference values laid down in this Regulation will continue to be of application. If new delegated powers were given to the Commission in the intervening period, it is the intention of the Commission to review the reference values laid down in this Regulation four years after its entry into force at latest.

Directive 2012/27/EU aims at promoting cogeneration in order to save energy, therefore there should be an incentive for retrofitting older cogeneration units in order to improve their energy efficiency. For those reasons, and in consistency with the requirement for the harmonised efficiency reference values which should be based on the principles mentioned in Annex II(f) of Directive 2012/27/EU, the efficiency reference values for electricity applicable to a cogeneration unit should increase from the eleventh year after the year of its construction,

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