S.L. 545.35 Art. 24Renewable energy communities. S.L. 545. 34.

(1) The regulatory framework for citizen energy communities envisaged by regulation 13 of the Electricity Regulations shall ensure that final customers, in particular household customers, are entitled to participate in a renewable energy community while maintaining their rights or obligations as final customers, and without being subject to unjustified or discriminatory conditions or procedures that would prevent their participation in a renewable energy community, provided that for private undertakings, their participation does not constitute their primary commercial or professional activity.

(2) The regulatory framework shall ensure that renewable energy communities are entitled to:

(a) produce, consume, store and sell renewable energy, including through renewables power purchase agreements;

(b) share, within the renewable energy community, renewable energy that is produced by the production units owned by that renewable energy community, subject to the other requirements laid down in this regulation and to maintaining the rights and obligations of the renewable energy community members as customers;

(c) access all suitable energy markets both directly or through aggregation in a non-discriminatory manner.

(3) The Minister shall carry out an assessment of the existing barriers and potential of development of renewable energy communities.

(4) The enabling framework shall promote and facilitate the development of renewable energy communities and shall ensure, inter alia, that:

(a) unjustified regulatory and administrative barriers to renewable energy communities are removed;

(b) renewable energy communities that supply energy or provide aggregation or other commercial energy services are subject to the provisions relevant for such activities;

(c) the relevant distribution system operator cooperates with renewable energy communities to facilitate energy transfers within renewable energy communities;

(d) renewable energy communities are subject to fair, proportionate and transparent procedures, including registration and licensing procedures, and cost-reflective network charges, as well as relevant charges, levies and taxes, ensuring that they contribute, in an adequate, fair and balanced way, to the overall cost sharing of the system in line with a transparent cost-benefit analysis of distributed energy sources developed by the national competent authorities;

(e) renewable energy communities are not subject to discriminatory treatment with regard to their activities, rights and obligations as final customers, producers, suppliers, distribution system operators, or as other market participants;

(f) the participation in the renewable energy communities is accessible to all consumers, including those in low-income or vulnerable households;

(g) tools to facilitate access to finance and information are available;

(h) regulatory and capacity-building support is provided to public authorities in enabling and setting up renewable energy communities, and in helping authorities to participate directly;

(i) rules to secure the equal and non-discriminatory treatment of consumers that participate in the renewable energy community are in place.

(5) The main elements of the enabling framework referred to in sub-regulation (4), and of its implementation, shall be part of the updates of the integrated national energy and climate plans and progress reports pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

(6) The Regulatory framework may provide for renewable energy communities to be open to cross-border participation.

(7) Without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 TFEU, the Minister shall take into account specificities of renewable energy communities when designing support schemes in order to allow them to compete for support on an equal footing with other market participants.

(8) This regulation shall apply without prejudice to Malta’s right to exercise the derogations granted pursuant to Article 66 of Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (recast).