On 1.1.2024, a law called LEX RES II came into force. This law brings with it the possibility of energy sharing in communities (Communities) that can be established for this purpose.
What can energy sharing bring to a municipality or city if the community is structured in a meaningful way?
- Overall lower energy prices in the community compared to if each member of the community managed energy independently.
- Partial independence from external energy suppliers.
- It encourages the use of local resources, thereby increasing both price and customer independence and allowing long-term planning of energy costs.
- As local resources are mostly renewable, sharing contributes significantly to their maximum use and thus substantially supports green electricity generation.
In order to achieve these effects, we need to build functional energy communities that give:
Energy sense – that is, finding suitable local producers and buyers and then drawing up their production and consumption diagrams so that they are optimally complementary.
Financial sense – if the community is set up in an energy sense, then transparent pricing must be set up within the community so that all stakeholders benefit.
Legal sense – a workable legal form must be chosen, and a way of acting in the community that will allow decisions to be taken and react to changes in the external environment, such as changes in the energy price structure, legislative changes, involvement of new community members…
ORGREZ ECO wants to help cities and municipalities with all this. It has the necessary experience and know-how of its group, which has been active in the energy sector for more than 67 years and employs more than 200 energy specialists. The company’s services also focus on supporting community energy and its actual deployment in practice. “We draw on many years of unique practical experience in the field of rationalization of energy processes, optimization of electricity production and consumption, distribution systems, thermal management, measurement of emissions and immissions, circular economy, waste treatment and other areas essential for long-term energy, ecological and economic sustainability,” says Jan Krišpín, CEO of ORGREZ, a.s.
We guide municipalities through the establishment and operation of an energy community
Together with representatives of the city or municipality, we will find suitable members of the community to make energy and therefore economic sense. We will propose transparent pricing rules and an appropriate legal structure. We accompany our clients for a long time, so we are ready to fulfil not only the function of support in the establishment of the community, but also the administrator and coordinator of the established community.
First step: with whom to establish the community and with what legal form
In order to establish a community, it is necessary to determine whether and with which members it makes sense to establish it and what legal form is appropriate. So it needs to be processed:
- a technical feasibility study of the community (finding the energy sense of the community),
- an economic feasibility study (finding financial sense),
- the legal framework of the community (finding the legal meaning of the community).
For the above-mentioned activities, local self-government units and their established contributory organisations and 100% owned commercial companies have a unique opportunity to apply for state financial support from the National Environment Programme.
The amount of the contribution is determined according to the complexity of the project of establishing the energy community. In the case of the establishment of a community by entities of different types (possibly on the territory of three different mutually contiguous ORP), the maximum amount of support is up to CZK 3 000 000 per application, with the maximum rate of support capped at 90 % of the direct eligible implementation costs.
The deadline for receipt of applications is 31.1.2024 until 15:00. If municipalities are thinking about setting up an energy community and are interested in a subsidy, we are ready to help them. Of course, our services are not conditional on this subsidy; we are also ready to provide them on the basis of standard commercial cooperation.