What does an obligation to purchase “green energy” mean? Case comment to the judgment of the Supreme Court of 5 July 2007 – Green energy (Ref. No. III SK 13/07)

Abstract

In 2002, a power company, the claimant in the commented case, purchased 7.993 Megawatt hours of renewable power directly from its producers and 157.145 Megawatt hours from an intermediary trading in renewable power. In a decision taken on 30 December 2003 (no. DPE/253/2003), the President of Polish Energy Regulatory Office (hereafter, URE), the defendant in this case, imposed a fine on the power company amounting to PLN 550,000 which constituted 0.1744% of the firm’s income from its licensed activities achieved in the year 2002. The fine constituted a penalty for the failure to observe the legal obligation place upon power companies to purchase electricity from non-conventional and renewable sources. The President of URE justified the decision by stating that the obligation to purchase green-power may be deemed to be fulfilled only if the power was purchased directly from producers of such power, rather than from intermediaries.

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