Temporary framework for hydrogen pilots – Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) allows pilot projects with hydrogen in the built environment if companies properly guarantee the safety of projects and comply with the consumer protection rules from the Temporary Framework hydrogen pilots.
With this, ACM wants to ensure that hydrogen pilots can continue and that safety and consumer protection are guaranteed. The framework allows for a period of five years, or when the new legislation is ready.
1 Gaining experience with hydrogen Hydrogen is expected to play an important role in a sustainable energy supply.
A number of pilot projects are currently being prepared in which, on a limited basis, scale hydrogen will be supplied to consumers.
Various parties are involved in these pilots involved, including network operators and energy suppliers.1 The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (hereinafter: ACM) considers it important that such pilots can take place.
The experience that becomes gained from these pilots can contribute to the transition to a sustainable energy supply with a important role for hydrogen. It also contributes to the cabinet’s research into the future market organisation, the division of roles between the parties involved, consumer protection and safety measures when setting up hydrogen chains.
2 Room for network operators
In its Signal 20212, ACM stated that there are currently no regulations for hydrogen supply to consumers within the built environment.
This means, among other things, that the safety and consumer protection are insufficiently guaranteed by law in pilot projects with supply of hydrogen. ACM considers this undesirable.
In addition, there is currently no legal basis for activities of network operators in the field of hydrogen, which means that they principle cannot be involved in pilots with hydrogen in the built environment.
However, it is from It is important that network operators can gain experience with the distribution of hydrogen. ACM will therefore provide grid operators, pending amendment of legislation and regulations, with scope for pilots gain experience with the distribution of hydrogen.
This means that ACM will not legislate in this area towards the grid operators involved, in other words the activities of grid operators will tolerate. ACM will offer this scope to grid operators if the pilots that the grid operators participate in involved meet certain conditions.
Recently, ACM, in consultation with other parties involved, have drawn up temporary conditions that hydrogen pilots must meet. With this, ACM wants to ensure that hydrogen pilots can continue and that safety and security consumer protection are guaranteed.
3 Conditions for hydrogen pilots As indicated in the previous section, hydrogen pilots must meet certain conditions to be eligible for toleration of the network operator’s activities. The conditions consist of generic terms, consumer protection terms, and safety conditions. In the opinion of ACM, it is important that hydrogen pilots meet these conditions to ensure that the pilots are a success for all involved to be.
3.1 Generic Terms The generic conditions relate to the aim of the pilot, the division of roles within the pilot, and the size and duration of the pilot. These conditions were largely already included in the Signal 2021 document, the maximum duration of the tolerance policy is further specified. The generic conditions are as follows:
- The pilot relates to the application of hydrogen as a heat supply in the built environment.
- The role of the network operator is limited to the construction (or reuse of gas networks), the management and maintenance of the hydrogen network and associated resources. Network operators are allowed distribute hydrogen over the grid, but have no role in the production, trade and supply of hydrogen.
- The pilot contributes to a clearly predetermined learning objective for the grid operator, which is determined with the consent of all parties involved, whereby the network operator transparently with the market in the interim and afterwards.
- The size of the pilot is not greater than necessary to achieve the learning objective.
- The space offered is temporary, until the role of the grid operator is legally regulated, the The learning objective of the experiment has been achieved or the objective is not feasible in practice.
- The space offered is for a maximum period of five years from the time of publication of these conditions. Pilot organizers can apply for a term of more than five years select. The pilot is then dependent on the completion of the term within five years preparation of new legislation and regulations regarding the involvement of the grid operator in pilots with hydrogen.
3.2 Consumer protection conditions In the recent period, ACM, in consultation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, has (hereinafter: EZK), the consumer protection conditions for hydrogen pilots worked out.
The basic principle of the conditions is that the supply of hydrogen with at least the same guarantees are associated with the supply of gas under the Gas Act. The elaborated conditions on the area of consumer protection are included in the appendix to this publication.
The ACM gives therein which protection the Civil Code offers, which conditions will apply according to analogy with the Gas Act, and which additional specifically formulated conditions will apply. Unpleasant In the opinion of the ACM, these conditions are important to sufficiently protect consumers and thus make the pilots a success for all involved.
3.3 Safety conditions EZK is currently drawing up a temporary policy framework for hydrogen safety.
3 Hydrogen pilots will have to meet these conditions in order to be able to tolerate the activities of the network operator. For the conditions in the field of safety, therefore referred to the temporary policy framework of EZK.
This is expected to be after the summer published. The intended supervisor of the safety of the hydrogen distribution in the pilots is the State Supervision of Mines (SodM). It is important that the safety of hydrogen pilots is properly guaranteed including its supervision.
To be able to offer space to network operators and the to allow pilots with hydrogen to go ahead, it is therefore necessary that it is temporarily policy framework has been published and it is possible to review it by the designated supervisor.
4 Procedure for applying for a tolerance decision Grid operators who want to be involved in a pilot with hydrogen supply to consumers should: request a tolerance decision from ACM for this.
This can be done using the application form, which can be requested by sending an e-mail to hydrogenpilots@acm.nl. Based on application, ACM will check whether all conditions have been met.
For the generic terms and conditions in the field of consumer protection, the ACM perform the assessment. For the security conditions to be published by EZK, the EZK designated supervisor to carry out the assessment. ACM will request this regulator to provide a statement ask whether the pilot meets the safety requirements.
If all conditions are met, ACM will announce this by means of a tolerance decision to the network operator. After this, the grid operator can start activities in the field of distribution of hydrogen as part of the pilot.
The conditions partly relate to other parties involved in the pilot. ACM will only offer room to the grid operator if the pilot is in its fully complies with the conditions and thus safeguards consumer protection and safety to be. The grid operator can do this through consultation within the consortium of organizing parties secure.
5 Supervision during the pilot During the pilot, ACM may request the grid operator to provide information about the pilot.
Any instructions from ACM with regard to the pilot will be given by the grid operator and other parties consortium parties must be followed up. If at any time during the term the pilot does not more satisfies the conditions and ACM’s instructions are not followed, ACM may withdraw its tolerance decision and stop the pilot (temporarily or otherwise).
The toleration decision will also be withdrawn if the designated supervisor issues its statement that the pilot complies with withdraw the security conditions.
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
Temporary framework for hydrogen pilots, July 5, 2022
