Relevant News in Renewable Energies: Implementation of Distributed Generation Law No. 27,424

On December 21, 2018, Resolution No. 314/2018 (the “Resolution”) issued by the Secretary of Government of Energy (the “SGE”), under the Ministry of Treasury, was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Argentina.

The Resolution contains implementation rules of the Distributed Generation Law No. 27,424 (the “Law”) and its pertaining Decree No. 986/2018 (the “Decree”, and jointly with the Law and the Resolution, the “Distributed Energy Framework”).

Most relevant matters of the Resolution are outlined below:
 
1) Categories of users-generators and connection to the grid

The following categories of users-generators are contained in the Resolution:

  1. Small users-generators (UGpe, for its Spanish acronym): users connected to the distribution in low voltage, with an equipment of a nameplate capacity no greater than 3 kV.
  2. Medium users-generators (UGme, for its Spanish acronym): users connected to the distribution grid in low/medium voltage, with an equipment of a nameplate capacity comprised between 3 kV and 300 kV.
  3. Major users-generators (UGma, for its Spanish acronym): users connected to the distribution grid in low/medium voltage, with an equipment of a nameplate capacity comprised between 300 kW and 2 MW.

The Resolution also establishes that the equipment of any of the users-generators described above shall not exceed the total aggregate of 2 MW per each MW for each supply point and that such users are allowed to connect to the grid up to a nameplate capacity equivalent to the one actually contracted with the relevant distribution company (authorization of the pertaining regulatory agency is mandatory for greater installed capacity).

For those purposes, the procedure in order to connect to the grid will be carried out by means of a public access digital procedure, to be implemented by the Undersecretary of Renewable Energy (the “URE”).

Equipment already connected as of the date on which the Resolution is issued, must also follow the connection procedure to verify whether such equipment complies with legal and technical requirements set forth in the Distribution Energy Framework.
 
2) Distributed Generation Agreement

The distributed generation agreement will be entered by and between any of the user-generators described above and the relevant distribution company and shall become effective as of the date on which it is executed with no expiration date (except for those events allowing for termination, as further described below). This agreement will be ancillary in respect of the agreement already in place with the distributor.

Assignment of the distributed generation agreement is allowed upon prior consent of the distribution company.

Rights and obligations with respect of the user-generator and distribution company, as applicable, are foreseen in the Resolution, inter alia:

  1. distribution company’s right to verify compliance with the requirements set forth in the Distributed Energy Framework and to disconnect users-generators from the grid in case technical conditions are not complied with;
  2. distribution company’s obligation to purchase the electricity generated and injected to the grid by the user-generator;

  3. users-generators’ right to supply energy into the grid with no additional charges whatsoever; and
  4. user-generator’s ability to assign accumulated credits derived from surplus energy; accumulated credits by injected energy and receive payments from such credits.

Finally, the Resolution enables the pertaining distributor to suspend the distributed generator agreement should the user-generator fail to comply with the requirements set forth in the Distributed Energy Framework and in turn, terminate such agreement upon a material breach. Prior remedy stage and defense by the user-generator before the regulatory agency is foreseen.
 
3) Qualified Installer

Qualified installers shall verify that distributed generation systems comply with the requirements set forth in the Distributed Energy Framework. Professionals from different levels of education may participate as qualified installers and in order to act in such capacity, degree validated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology is required together with enrollment in the relevant professional association.
 
4) Payment structure

Payments under the Distributed Energy Framework shall be in accordance with the requirements set forth below:

  • At the end of each billing period, users-generators shall receive an invoice detailing their consumption and energy injected into the grid, expressed in kilowatt-hour (kWh) with the corresponding prices of each unit expressed in argentine pesos/kWh.
  • Energy injected to the grid shall be measured, registered and paid by distribution companies, which shall be duly reflected in the corresponding invoice.
  • No additional charges from the distribution companies allowed.
  • Should the energy injected into the grid be greater than the one consumed by the user-generator, the user-generator shall have a credit which will be taken into account for future billing periods.
  • Credits in favor of users-generators shall not expire and remain in the corresponding account until they are compensated.
  • Assignment of such credits to accounts of other users of the same distribution company shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure set forth by the corresponding regulatory agency.

 
5) Promotional Benefits

Promotional benefits shall be granted to users-generators acting under those jurisdictions which adhere to the Distributed Energy Framework. Local promotional benefits may also apply.
 
6) Pending Matters

Matters related to (i) the Distributed Generation Development Trust (Fondo Fiduciario para el Desarrollo de Generación Distribuida); (ii) the public access digital platform; (iii) the promotional benefits; and (iv) the fiscal credit certificates set forth in section 28 of the Law remain pending of implementation and are subject to future regulation by the URE.
 
At TRS&M we are available to provide clarifications or further information of any matter addressed above.

by trsym

RenovAr 3 program - MiniRen

On November 15, 2018, Resolution No. 100/2018 (hereinafter, the “Resolution”) issued by the Secretary of Government of Energy (the “SGE”) has been published in the Official Gazette.

By means of this Resolution, the SGE has launched RenovAr 3 program – MiniRen, addressed to small-medium renewable projects that, if selected as awardees, will enter into a long-term power purchase agreement (“PPA”) with the Wholesale Electric Market Management Company (“CAMMESA” for its Spanish acronym). The tender’s terms and conditions are also attached as Annex thereto.

An outline of the tender terms is summarized below:

Schedule • Consultation period: 14/11/2018 – 18/02/2019
• Bid submission: 27/03/2019
• First-stage qualification: 7/05/2019
• Selection of winners: 17/05/2019
• Execution of PPA: 20/05/2019 – 8/11/2019
Required Capacity by Technology • Wind/Solar PV: 350 MW
• Biomass: 25 MW
• Biogas: 10 MW
• Landfill Biogas: 5 MW
• Small Hydro (PAH): 10 MW
Requirements by Technology
Wind S.P. Biomass Biogas L.G. PAH
Minimum Capacity (MW) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Maximum Capacity (MW) 10 10 10 10 10 10
Maximum COD (days) 730 730 1095 1095 1095 1095
Maximum Price (USD/MWh) 60 60 110 160 130 105
Qualified Bidders • Natural persons or legal entities (onshore or offshore)
• Consortiums (“UTE” for its Spanish acronym)
• Trusts
PPA – Payment Priority and Dispatch Priority • 20-year term PPA as from COD. Generators are entitled to terminate the PPA for convenience upon the tenth (10) year anniversary with no associated penalties.
• The PPAs shall have the same payment priority that those PPAs under RenovAr 1, 1.5 and 2.
• No dispatch priority will be granted for RenovAr 3 projects.
Payment Guarantees – FODER • FODER shall provide a short-term guarantee backing up CAMMESA’s obligation to make payments under the PPA. Tenor of this guarantee shall be of ninety (90) days. Adhesion to the FODER by means of the execution of a FODER Adhesion Agreement is required.
• A USD 35,000,000 bank guarantee provided by the National Bank of Argentina and BICE also foreseen.
• No world bank guarantee contemplated.
Integrity Policy • Bidders shall provide an Integrity Policy Program in accordance with Law No. 27,401 of Corporate Criminal Liability.
Other relevant matters • Both trusts and consortiums are authorized to act as bidders.
• For wind and solar photovoltaic technologies, hybrid projects are allowed.
• A Technical Connection and Commercial Agreement Letter shall be executed with the Distribution Agent and, if applies, the Provider of the Technical Transmission Function (“PAFTT”).
• Except for the Province of Buenos Aires, a maximum capacity of 20 MW per province is foreseen.

At TRS&M we are available to provide clarifications or further information of any matter addressed above.

by trsym

Thermal Generation and Fuel Procurement: New and Most Relevant Regulation

On November 7, Resolution No. 70/2018 (hereinafter, the “Resolution”) issued by the Secretary of Government of Energy (the “SGE”) has been published in the Official Gazette, with relevant impact towards thermal generators, auto-generators and co-generators, acting within the wholesale electricity market (the “WEM” and “WEM Agents”, as the case may be), whereas by means of this Resolution, Resolution No. 95/13 issued by the former Secretary of Energy (“SE”) has been partially derogated, and therefore, WEM Agents are now entitled to procure their own fuel, whether by their own means or by private third-party fuel supply agreements.

After the enactment of Resolution SE 95/13, WEM Agents were required to receive supply directly from Wholesale Electric Market Management Company (“CAMMESA”, for its Spanish acronym, which acts an independent system operator or ISO), and generators were expected to receive sums arising only under the provisions of Resolution SE No. 95/2013.

By this Resolution that has been recently issued -with abrogating effects regarding Resolution SE 95/13 on fuel-supply matters- WEM Agents may now purchase the fuel that is necessary for their operations in such capacity-.

Because of this Resolution, CAMMESA has ceased to be the sole fuel-supplier of the WEM.

This is significant as the policy adopted by this Resolution is that the SGE has reinstated a fuel-supply market in Argentina, which is aligned with the foundations and criteria originally set forth in Law No. 24,065.

Please find below a brief summary of the Resolution, its relevance and associated business opportunities:
 
1. Partial abrogation of Resolution SE 95/2013

As indicated before, the Resolution abrogates former Resolution SE 95/2013 on matters regarding CAMMESA acting as sole supplier of the necessary for the WEM Agents’ operation. The former section of Resolution SE 95/13 established that fuel supply, operation and management of the WEM and dispatch of electricity were carried out solely by CAMMESA.

As of the date hereof and by means of this Resolution, WEM Agents may now procure their fuel without resorting to CAMMESA. Associated costs for self or third-party fuel supply will be calculated pursuant to CAMMESA’s variable-fee scheme.

The Resolution further states that CAMMESA shall remain as independent system operator and in charge of supplying fuel to those WEM Agents that do not (or may not) opt-out from CAMMESA’s sole-supply mechanism.

Complementary regulation is expected in the short term by the SGE -or lower-ranked authority depending from the SGE, addressing matters such as technical issues and the opt-out mechanism.

2. Business opportunities

As it is publicly known, hydrocarbon unconventional reservoirs, as Vaca Muerta have generated a big interest for investment.

Vaca Muerta is far yet from achieving its full potential despite notorious advances occurred recently. Analysts estimate that the production of natural gas will be further significantly increased. Such boost would enlarge natural gas supply and in turn, provide a proper environment for new investment and further business opportunities.

Enabling power generators to freely-negotiate the terms and conditions for their fuel-supply, without intervention from CAMMESA, together with growing natural gas production, certainly will enhance efficiency and competitiveness of the electricity markets.
 
At TRS&M we are available to provide clarifications or further information of any matter addressed above.

by trsym

Renewable Energy: Regulation of Distributed Generation Law No. 27,424

On November 1, 2018, Decree No. 986/2018 (the “Decree”) was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Argentina.

The Decree contains the applicable regulation of Law No. 27,424, which approved the Distributed Renewable Energy Generation Incentive Scheme (the “Law”), passed by the National Congress on November 2017.

The Law sets forth policies and contractual conditions applicable to the distributed renewable energy generation by distribution network users (which in turn are enabled to connect their small-scale renewable energy projects to the electricity grid for purposes of supplying power remainders) and declared this activity as of national interest. Moreover, the Law is also based on open access rules, whereby the distribution companies regulated as public utilities must provide open access to the systems operated by them in this regard.

The Decree establishes that measures implemented under the Law shall be oriented towards achieving a total installed capacity of one thousand megawatts (1,000 MW) on the twelfth- year anniversary as from the date on which the Decree becomes effective (year 2030).

The most relevant aspects of the Decree are summarized below:

1) Enforcement Authority

  • The Secretary of Government of Energy, under the Ministry of Treasury, is designated as the enforcement authority of the Law and the Decree (the “Enforcement Authority”), with faculties to issue clarifying and complementary regulations.
  • The Enforcement Authority shall: (a) provide technical requirements which users-generators must fulfill in order to generate electric energy for self-consumption and to inject surpluses to the distribution network, and (b) define the categories of users-generators according to technical parameters.
  • Further regulation containing safety and technical requirements, to be carried out by the distribution companies in order to enable connection to their grid, is differed to a later stage.
  • The Enforcement Authority will approve the terms and conditions of the renewable energy contract to be entered by and between the user-generators and distribution companies. Pursuant to the Decree, the Enforcement Authority shall define the Distributed Renewable Energy Generation Contract main terms and conditions.

2) Scope

  • Categories of user-generators shall be defined by the Enforcement Authority, based on power of contracted load and capacity of generation to be installed.
  • The way upon the user-generators will connect to the grid, as well as procedural steps including a special authorization, are deferred to further complementary regulation.

3) Connection authorization

  • In order to obtain a connection authorization, users willing to install a distributed generation equipment connected to the distribution network shall comply with the procedure to be approved by the Enforcement Authority.
  • Such procedure shall include -inter alia- the following steps:

    • Analysis of connection feasibility based on the distribution network and the characteristics of distributed generation equipment to be installed.
    • Verification of the installations.
    • Execution of a distributed electric energy generation agreement.
    • Set-up of smart-grid equipment.
    • Connection to the distribution network.
  • When the technical and security evaluation is approved, the user-generator and the distributing companies shall execute a distributed electric energy generation agreement.
  • Once such agreement is executed and the connection is allowed, the Enforcement Authority shall issue a certificate of compliance with applicable requirements and the date of connection to the bidirectional measuring equipment.

4) Invoicing system

The Decree sets forth a net balance invoicing system, whereby costs of consumed energy and produced energy are compensated between each other.

Each distribution company shall comply with the following:

  • Distributing companies shall buy and pay to user-generators all energy that may be injected to the distribution network generated by renewable sources.
  • The “Injection Rate” shall be the purchase price of electric energy, including the transmission rate of the Wholesale Electricity Market (the “WEM”).
  • This compensation shall be valued in Argentine pesos and included in the pertaining invoice.
  • If there are any surpluses in favor of user-generators, a credit for future invoices will be generated. If such credit remains, user-generators may request the distribution companies to compensate the remaining amounts. Distribution companies shall pay the remaining amounts in no less than two fixed annual payments.
  • Credits may be assigned by users connected to the same grid and may be allocated for tax benefit purposes.

5) FODIS

  • The Law creates a government-trust fund known as the Distributed Renewable Energy Generation Fund (the “FODIS”, for its Spanish acronym), which is regulated by the Law, the Decree, rules dictated by the Enforcement Authority, the trust agreement and further regulation. FODIS’ most relevant aspect are summarized below:
    • FODIS’ parties: the Enforcement Authority shall act as FODIS’ trustor. A public financial entity shall act as trustee.
    • FODIS’ beneficiaries: final beneficiaries shall be the owners of renewable energy generation projects as approved by the FODIS (the “Beneficiaries”).
    • Purpose:

      • The FODIS is entitled to grant non-fiscal incentives.
      • The FODIS may also grant other benefits–e.g., through bonuses in the capital cost for the acquisition of distributed generation equipment–.
      • Beneficiaries’ may also benefit from benefits granted by the FODIS, in their capacity of equipment supplier’s or services providers.
      • Equity contributions are enabled, as well as financing facilities.
    • Funding: the FODIS will be funded by means of:

      • Resources from the national budget, determined from time to time by the Enforcement Authority. In this matter, the Law has allocated the sum of Argentine Pesos five hundred million (AR$ 500,000,000) for 2018.
      • Capital reimbursements; interests, fines, charges, expenditures, administrative costs and any amounts which the FODIS is entitled to receive; rights, guarantees or insurance which the FODIS receives from the Beneficiaries or third parties.
    • Other issues: financing facilities shall be in accordance with requirements that will be determined by the FODIS. Interest rate for repayment may also be subject to a reduced rate.

6) Promotional regime

  • The granting of incentives shall be available to user-generators of jurisdictions which adhere to the Law and only if general, technical and security requirements are fulfilled.
  • The Enforcement Authority shall set forth the conditions and procedures which shall be fulfilled for the granting of incentives.
  • The Enforcement Authority shall set forth the procedure by which the Beneficiaries may request the fiscal credit certificate.
  • The Enforcement Authority and the Federal Bureau of Public Income (the “AFIP”, for its Spanish acronym) shall regulate further conditions in this regard.
  • The fiscal credit certificate shall not be designated to set off obligations arising from liability caused by third parties’ debts or from the acting of taxpayers as withholding agents.
  • Credits and other incentives of the Law may be granted during the twelve (12) year period as of the entry into force of the Decree.

7) FANSIGED:

  • The Ministry of Production and Work (the “MPyT”, for its Spanish acronym) shall set forth the requirements and technical regulations related to the Systems, Equipment and Inputs National Manufacturing Incentives Scheme (the “FANSIGED”, for its Spanish acronym).
  • Activities of technical assistance for the investigation and development of new prototypes of the addition of improvements in products design shall be considered activities of investigation, design and development and, consequently, shall be benefited by the FANSIGED.
  • The MPyT shall set forth requirements and procedures which interested parties shall comply with in order to receive incentives.
  • Micro, Small and Medium enterprises which comply with requirements set forth in the Law and which wish to adhere to the FANSIGED shall obtain a PyME Certificate and shall submit documentation which shows proof of turnover and shareholding structure of the corresponding company.

8) Tax incentives

The following incentives are included in the FANSIGED:

  • Fiscal certificate for the investment on investigation and development, design, capital assets and certificates for manufacturing companies. The procedure to obtain such certificate shall be jointly determined by the MPyT and the AFIP.
  • Accelerated depreciation in Income Tax, for the acquisition of capital assets for the manufacturing of equipment and supplies destined for the distributed renewable energy generation, except for automobiles, in the conditions which shall be set forth by the MPyT and the Ministry of Treasury.
  • VAT early reimbursement for the acquisition of assets mentioned in the immediately preceding section, pursuant to a procedure to be determined by the MPyT and the Ministry of Finance.
  • Access to financing with preferential rates, in accordance with regulation which the MPyT shall set forth.
  • Access to the Suppliers Developers Program, in accordance with regulation which the MPyT shall set forth.

9) Penalties

The Decree also sets forth that failure to comply with terms related to information and authorization requests, as well as to measuring systems installation and connection by user-generations, shall be penalized and shall result in a compensation in favor of the user-generator based on the penalties set forth by each regulatory authority.
 
Further steps regarding implementation of applicable procedures as well as other requirements mentioned above are due and expected to occur briefly.

At TRSyM we are available to provide clarifications or further information of any matter addressed above.

by trsym

Public-Private Partnership Agreements – Preliminary Terms for National and International Public Tender Power Transmission Works

On September 21, 2018, the Secretary of Public-Private Partnership (the “SPPP”) has made available in its website, the preliminary tender terms (the “Preliminary Tender Terms”) for the first-high voltage power transmission lines under a new public-private partnership (“PPP”) scheme. The awardee will be selected as contractor (the “PPP Contractor”), who will undertake the construction and further operation and maintenance of the 500 kV high-voltage line, the future substations Río Diamante and Charlone, and complementary works (the “Project”).

The preliminary PPP Agreement (the “PPP Agreement”), the Preliminary Tender Terms and its appendixes contain the main characteristics of the Project as of September 21, 2018.

The awarded bidder will execute a PPP Agreement for a total fifteen-year term. The PPP Agreement comprises (i) a construction period (the “Construction Period”), for the term comprised within its execution and commercial operation date (“COD”), term that may not exceed the maximum a term of thirty-six (36) months; and (ii) further to COD, an operation and maintenance services period (the “O&M Period”), up to the fifteenth (15) year as from its execution.

The Project’s total compensation –CAPEX and OPEX– (the “Required Total Amount”) will be due and payable by means of (i) investment payment titles (“TPI”, for its Spanish acronym) equivalent to 90% of the Required Total Amount, and (ii) a residual compensation (the “Residual Compensation”) equivalent to 10% of the Required Total Amount. Both will be issued and paid by and individual PPP Trust (Fideicomiso Individual PPP Transmisión Eléctrica and hereinafter, the “PPP Trust”), which will be constituted specifically for the Project and in order to manage issuance and payments due to the PPP Contractor. For specifics about this matter, please refer to point 9 below.

The Argentine government, through the Secretary of Government of Energy (the “SGE”), currently under the Ministry of Treasury, shall provide funding to the PPP Trust by yearly budgetary contributions. The PPP Trust will also receive those funds collected by the Compañía Administradora del Mercado Mayorista Eléctrico S.A. (“CAMMESA”), related to charges under Resolution No. 1085/17 of the former Secretary of Energy.

The relevant authorities in relation to the Project are: (i) the SGE, as convening authority of the tender, and (ii) Integración Energética Argentina S.A. (the “Contracting Entity”), successor of former Energía Argentina S.A. (“ENARSA”).

Schedule, final terms and conditions of the tender are yet still to be defined. A consultation period and a deadline for the tender of bids will be specified in such schedule.

It should be noted that, due to the preliminary nature of the documents and the fact that the SPPP will be publishing complementary information regarding the Project, the information contained herein may be updated in the future and therefore, subject to further modifications In this respect, we will be closely following this process and inform any relevant updates as soon as possible.

The most relevant aspects of the Preliminary Tender Terms are summarized below:

1) Selection process

The selection process of the PPP Contractor will be implemented through a two-stage national and international tender procedure.

2) Main rules

The main legal rules and documents to be considered regarding the Preliminary Tender Terms are comprised by the following: (i) Law No. 27,328 and its regulatory Decree No. 118/2017; (ii) Law No. 27,431, which approved the national budget for the current 2018 year; (iii) the 2019 period national budget law1; (iv) the PPP Agreement; (v) the agreement and rules of the Law 27,431 PPP Trust; (vi) the Trust Agreement; (vii) Trust joinder agreement; (viii) Resolution No. 1/2017 issued by the SPPP; (ix) Resolution No. 1/2018, issued by the SPPP; and (x) specific regulations of the electricity regulatory framework, such as (a) Laws No. 15,336 and 24,065; (b) their regulatory decrees (i.e., Decrees No. 1398/1992 and 186/1995), and (c) the Procedures for Programming the Operation, the Dispatch and Calculation of Prices, approved by the former SEE Resolution No. 61 dated April 29, 1992, as amended and supplemented to date.

3) Tender documents

The final tender terms and conditions will be published by the SPPP. Clarifying circular letters (circulares aclaratorias) may be issued upon queries of the bidders, which shall be performed no less than fifteen (15) days as from the date set forth as deadline for bid submission.

4) Bidders

  • Legal capacity: bidders may accredit their legal capacity by any of the following: (i) having an address in the Republic of Argentina; (ii) having its principal place of business in the Republic of Argentina; or (iii) being dully registered as a branch.
  • Limitations: the same legal entity or may not integrate different bidders. However, a bidder may be integrated by two or more legal entities or persons, in which case they will be held as jointly and severally liable vis-à-vis the SGE.
  • Corporate purpose and term: the corporate purpose of those legal entities acting as bidders or members of a bidder must allow their performance as bidders and, subject to being awarded, PPP Contractor. The term of these legal entities must be, for at least three (3) years greater than the total duration of the PPP Agreement.
  • Restrictions: certain restrictions are set forth in the tender documents (i.e., corporation matters, anti-corruption).
  • National component: minimum thresholds for national component are mandatory.
  • Minimum capital stock: the PPP Contractor must subscribe a capital stock of at least 0,1% of the Required Total Amount as follows:
    1. 25%, concurrently with the execution of the PPP Agreement.
    2. 50%, at the sixth (6) month anniversary as from the execution of the PPP Agreement.
    3. 75%, at the twelfth (12) month anniversary as from the execution of the PPP Agreement.
    4. Outstanding balance, at the eighteenth (18) month anniversary as from the execution of the PPP Agreement.
  • Prior to the execution of the PPP Agreement, the awarded bidder must incorporate the PPP Contractor as a sociedad anónima, which will act as a sole purpose vehicle.

5) Reference and alternative projects

The reference project comprises the design, construction, expansion, maintenance and operation of the Project, in accordance to the technical specifications, which must be complied with by the PPP Contractor. These are attached as Appendixes V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X (the “Reference Project”).

Bidders must expressly indicate if they adopt the Reference Project or if they propose alternatives, in which case they must include a detail of their alternative project (the “Alternative Project”). Alternative projects must comply with the minimal technical requirements which are attached to the Preliminary Tender Terms as Appendix V.

If an Alternative Project fails to comply with the Preliminary Tender Terms’ minimal technical requirements or if the Alternative Project fails to obtain CAMMESA’s approval, the PPP Contractor must adopt the Reference Project with the same Annual Fee (as such term is defined below) than the one offered for the Alternative Project.

6) Bid formalities

Bids must be submitted in original or certified copies.

Bidders must submit the following documents:

  • Envelope No. 1: this envelope shall include the technical bid, which is comprised of (i) legal documents regarding the bidder and its legal capacity; (ii) documents which prove technical capacity and bidder’s track record, and (iii) documents which prove financial capacity of the bidder.

    With respect to the documents mentioned in point (ii), the bidder shall comply with the following requirements:

    1. Background on construction of high-voltage lines and substations:
      Requirements Acceptable minimum
      i. Civil works and mechanical and electromechanical assembly and erection of power transmission lines and of substation projects, which operate with a voltage equal or higher than 500 kV, with metallic structures, including control, protection and telecommunications systems, in the last twenty (20) years. - Length of high-voltage lines of no less than two-hundred and fifty (250) kilometers
      - 1 substation
      - 1 project in the last ten (10) years
      ii. Civil works and mechanical and electromechanical assembly and erection of substation projects, which operate with a voltage equal or higher than 500 kV, with metallic structures, in the last twenty (20) years. - Length of high-voltage lines of no less than two-hundred and fifty (250) kilometers.
      - 1 substation
      - 1 project in the last ten (10) years


    2. Background on provision of operation and maintenance services for high-voltage lines and substations:
      Requirements Acceptable minimum
      i. Power transmission lines and substations which operate with a voltage equal or higher than 500 kV maintenance, in the last twenty (20) years. Five (5) years
      ii. Power transmission lines and substations which operate with a voltage equal or higher than 500 kV operation, in the last twenty (20) years. Five (5) years


    3. Design engineering background:
      Requirements Acceptable minimum
      i. Preparation of electric studies and projects for 500 kV facilities One project of at least two-hundred and fifty (250) kilometers

      Bidders must submit a copy of those contracts or certificates issued by their contracting parties, for compliance with these standards.

      With regards to those requirements indicated in point b) above, the Preliminary Tender Terms do allow subcontracting as a way to comply with those minimum standards.

  • Envelope No. 2: this envelope must include the economic bid, which must be submitted using the forms attached in Appendix IV of the Preliminary Tender Terms.

    The economic bid must indicate a specific amount of an annual fee in US dollars (the “Annual Fee”)2. Preference will be granted to the bidder who bids the lowest Annual Fee.

7) Guarantees

Pursuant to the Preliminary Tender Terms, the following guarantees are mandatory and therefore required: (i) a bid bond, (ii) a financial close bond, and (iii) a main works bond.

Such guarantees must be constituted by the PPP Contractor in favor of the SGE as first-demand guarantees and may be constituted as (i) a bank deposit, (ii) a bank guarantee, and/or (iii) a stand-by letter of credit.

  • Bid bond:
    1. Amount: fifteen-million US dollars (US$ 15,000,000).
    2. Requirements: if bidders are integrated by more than one legal entity, the bid bond must be issued by the bidder’s controlling shareholder.
    3. Execution: the SGE shall be entitled to execute the bid bond in the event that (i) a bidder withdraws its bid in advance; (ii) a bidder forges information; (iii) the PPP Agreement is not executed; or (iv) a bidder fails to issue the main works bond or the financial close bond in accordance with the PPP Agreement.
    4. Term: one-hundred and twenty (120) days as from tender submission with automatic term renewal.
    5. Return: upon execution of the PPP Agreement and submission of the financial close bond and main works bond.
  • Financial close bond:
    1. Term: as from execution of the PPP Agreement and achievement of financial close.
    2. Initial amount: 2% of the Required Total Amount.
    3. Increases: if the financial close is not achieved by the PPP Contractor within the term of six (6) months since the PPP Agreement is executed, the PPP Contractor must increase the financial close bond in a 2.25% of the Required Total Amount for TPI. If financial close is not achieved within the term of nine (9) months, the financial close bond must be increased in a 2.75% of the Required Total Amount for TPI.
    4. Execution: the Contracting Entity may execute the financial close bond in the event that (a) the PPP Contractor does not achieve financial close upon the committed date (considering extensions); and/or (b) the PPP Contractor does not extend or renew the financial close bond.
  • Main works bond:
    1. Term: as from execution of the PPP Agreement once year further to COD.
    2. Initial amount: the amount of the main works bond shall be equal to: (a) as from the execution of the PPP Agreement, 2.5% of the Required Total Amount for TPI; and (b) from the financial close until one (1) year after the Project’s COD, to 4.5% of the Required Total Amount for TPI.
    3. Increases: the main works bond may be subject to renewals and increases in the event of late COD.
    4. Execution: the Contracting Entity may execute the main works bond in case that (i) the PPP Contractor is fined under the PPP Agreement and such penalty is not paid in due time; (ii) the PPP Contractor fails to compensate the Contracting Entity for liquidated damages related to the execution of the Project; (iii) the PPP Contractor fails to pay any charges or penalties owed to the Contracting Entity if the PPP Agreement is terminated prior to its maturity date; (iv) the PPP Contractor fails to pay any amounts which are determined by recommendation of a technical board or an arbitral award in favor of the Contracting Entity; or (v) the PPP Agreement is terminated by justified decision by the Contracting Entity.

8) Transmission companies

The Preliminary Tender Terms provide that in case TRANSENER S.A. or TRANSBA S.A. are awarded as PPP Contractor, as applicable, they will be not entitled to collect he supervision fee that the PPP Agreement establishes. Project’s supervision will be defined in a future tender process to be carried out by the SGE.

9) PPP Contractor’s payment scheme

TPIs will be issued by the PPP Trust during the Construction Period on a quarterly basis, pursuant to the actual works progress. Monthly investment advancement acts (“ARAI”) will be executed. TPIs shall be considered mature on the forty-two (42) month anniversary of the PPP Agreement’s execution date and will be payable on twenty-four (24) semi-annual payments.

With respect to the Residual Compensation, it shall be due and payable as from the Project’s COD monthly. Invoices for the corresponding Residual Compensation shall be issued by the PPP Contractor and delivered to the Contracting Entity. The PPP Trust will pay those invoices within fifteen (15) days.

  • Both TPIs and the Residual Compensation will be nominated in US dollars and shall be deemed as fixed, unconditional, irrevocable and transferable, without the Contracting Entity’s prior consent.
  • Non-timely TPIs will accrue interests to a rate equivalent to two-hundred (200) points above the performance of bonds ARG2026, ARG2027 and ARG2028N.
  • As TPIs are issued in accordance with the main works’ progress, the PPP Contractor will benefit itself with a speedy execution of the works under the Project.

10) Dispute resolution

  • Amicable negotiations: the PPP Agreement sets forth an initial stage of amicable negotiations in case there are any disputes between the parties. This initial stage has a period of thirty (30) days.
  • Technical board: once the thirty (30) day period of amicable negotiations expires, a technical board must intervene and issue a recommendation.
  • Arbitration:
    1. Requirements: if the technical board does not issue a recommendation in the term of ninety (90) days, any party may submit the dispute to arbitration.
    2. Venue: venue shall be in the City of Buenos Aires, unless: (i) the dispute is not quantifiable; (ii) the value under dispute exceeds the sum of ten-million US dollars (US$ 10,000,000); or (iii) the controlling shareholder is not Argentine. Upon any of those circumstance, the seat of arbitration may be in the City of Buenos Aires or in a member state of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 1958).
    3. Composition: the arbitral tribunal shall be composed of three (3) members when the dispute is not quantifiable or when the value under dispute is equal or higher to ten-million US dollars (US$ 10,000,000). If the value under dispute is less than ten-million US dollars (US$ 10,000,000), the arbitral tribunal shall be composed of one (1) member.
    4. Nationality: the president of the arbitral tribunal shall not be national to any of the parties nor to any controlling shareholder with a direct or indirect participation higher than 10% of the PPP Contractor.

11) Risk matrix

A preliminary risk matrix has been made available, whereby the Project’s risks are allocated either to the PPP Contractor or to the Contracting Entity, as the case may be. Such risk matrix indicates that the PPP Contractor shall bear, inter alia, (1) power-line easement-associated risk, pursuant to Law No. 19,552; (2) COD risk; (3) environmental risk. As for the Contracting Entity, it shall bear: (1) demand risk; and (3) exchange variation risk.


We are available to provide clarifications or further information of any matter addressed above.

*****

1. Currently, such bill as proposed by the National Executive is under review in the National Congress of the Republic of Argentina.↑
2. The Annual Fee is the PPP Agreement awarding variable and represents a sum equal to the twelfth part of the Required Total Amount.↑

by trsym

Public-Private Partnership Agreements. Indicative terms – Power transmission works

The Secretariat of Public-Private Partnership (the “SPPP”) has just outlined the tender terms for the first-high voltage power transmission lines (the “Executive Summary” and the “Project”, respectively), under the new public-private partnership scheme (“PPP”).

The Project comprises the construction and further operation and maintenance of: (1) the 500 kV high voltage line, between ET Río Diamante and the future ET Coronel Charlone; and (2) the future ET Coronel Charlone, along with the 132 kV connections in Laboulaye, Rufino, General Villegas, General Pico Sur and Realicó, and complementary works (hereinafter, referred as the “Main Works”).

The non-binding Executive Summary also foresees the provision of the O&M Services, during the O&M Period (as both terms are defined below).

The Project is designed under the PPP scheme, pursuant to Law No. 27.328 and its regulatory Decree No. 118/2017, which provides an alternative contracting structure to the Public Works and Public Works Concession frameworks (ruled by Laws No. 13,064 and 17,520, respectively).

The awarded bidders will execute a PPP Agreement (the “PPP Agreement”), with the Secretariat of Energy Politics Coordination, currently under the Federal Ministry of Energy (the “Contracting Entity” and the “ME”, respectively), for the execution of the Main Works and the performance of the O&M Services (as defined below).

Transmission projects must be up and running within thirty-three (33) months from the signing of the PPP Agreement (the “Construction Period”), while O&M Services will be provided for up to 15 years (the “O&M Period”) as from commercial operation date.

Please find below a summary of the most relevant aspects of the Project, as per indicated in the non-binding Executive Summary.

Main Works and O&M Services comprised by the Project

As indicated before, the Project involves the expansion of the current high-voltage transmission grid, by means of the execution of the Main Works -which shall be executed within the Construction Period-. The Construction Period is capped at a maximum of thirty-three (33) months from the execution of the PPP Agreement.

Following the Construction Period, the PPP Contractor shall provide the O&M Services within the O&M Period –capped at maximum fifteen (15) years-, comprised by the provision of O&M Services of the Main Works, pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in the PPP Agreement, electricity regulatory framework, The Procedures and applicable regulations.

Applicable regulatory framework

The PPP Agreement will be governed and construed by (1) Law No. 27,328 and its regulatory Decree No. 118/2017, (2) Law No. 27,431, which approved the national budget for the current 2018 year, and (3) specific regulations of the electricity regulatory framework, such as (a) Laws No. 15,336 and 24,065; (b) their respective regulatory decrees (i.e Decrees No. 1398/1992 and 186/1995), and (c) “The Procedures”, which is a compilation of many resolutions that rule the electric market’s operation (comprised by Resolution No. 61/1992 of the former Secretariat of Electric Energy, as further complemented and amended).

The obligatory and direct application of specific electricity regulations, turns out to be innovative, in comparison with similar projects under the same PPP scheme.

Project’s structure

The PPP Contractor shall (1) execute the Main Works, within the Construction Period, and (2) provide the O&M Services, within the O&M Period. Repayment of investments incurred both during construction –CAPEX- and operation (OPEX) of the Project will be split and subject to different provisions, in order to mitigate the typical risks to which the PPP Contractor is exposed during those stages.

PPP Contractor’s payment

Main Works Payment

When placing its bid, the PPP Contractor will have to choose within two different payment arrangements concerning the Main Works’ execution, whether by (1) Investment Payment Titles Fee and Remaining Compensation, or (2) by a Monthly Compensation.

Such structure is new and differs from those previously adopted for other Argentine PPP Projects, whereas the repayment of PPP Contractor’s CAPEX was linked to long term recoverable TPIs (for its Spanish acronym: Título de Pago por Inversión) or TPDs (for its Spanish acronym, Título de Pago por Disponibilidad) exclusively.

TPI Compensation and residual Compensation

Under the first option, the PPP Contractor will receive a part of the TPIs total amount –which will not exceed the maximum of 80%- as from the fourth (4) year of the PPP Agreement’s term, through TPIs, nominated in US dollars, unconditional and irrevocable, according to the actual Main Works’ progress. These TPIs are linked to the Construction Period phase only.

The remaining 20% of the required total amount will be due and payable as from the Project’s commercial operation date –after the end of the Construction Period-, on a monthly basis, and within the O&M Period, through the residual Compensation (the “Residual Compensation”).

Under this structure:

  • The bidder shall indicate the TPI required percentage –equal or lower than 80% of the required total amount-.
  • Each TPI –that, as mentioned, will be nominated in US Dollars and fixed, unconditional, irrevocable and transferable- will involve thirty (30) biannual payments in US Dollars, being TPI’s first payment date at the thirty-ninth (39) month as from the date on which the PPP Agreement is executed. Non-timely TPIs (either by delays on its issuance or in its payment) will accrue interests.
  • TPIs will be issued by the Electric Transmission Individual Trust (please, see below), by instruction of the Contracting Entity, which shall also be responsible for TPIs payment.
  • In connection with the Residual Compensation, it will also be due under the same terms of the Monthly Compensation (See below).

Payment under Monthly Compensation scheme

Under the second option, the PPP Contractor will receive the total required amount through a monthly compensation (the “Monthly Compensation”), as from the Main Works’ commercial operation date and during the O&M Period.

Such Monthly Compensation will be invoiced by the PPP Contractor to the Contracting Entity, and will be payable by the Electric Transmission Individual Trust in one hundred and eighty (180) US Dollars equal and monthly installments.

Electric Transmission PPP Individual Trust

The Parties to the PPP Trust (the “Electric Transmission PPP Individual Trust”), will be (i) the Republic of Argentina, through the ME, as trustor; (ii) the Governmental Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade (in Spanish: Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior S.A., hereinafter, the “BICE”, for its Spanish acronym), as trustee; (iii) Banco de Valores S.A., as administrative agent of the trust; and (iii) PPP Contractor, as beneficiary.

The Electric Transmission PPP Individual Trust will operate as a single trust for the Project, for the administration of the allocated funds to the Project, and will be the obligor in respect to all payments due and payable to the PPP Contractor.

The Electric Transmission PPP Individual Trust will be funded by (1) contributions made by the Wholesale Electric Market Management Company (In Spansh: Compañía Administradora del Mercado Mayorista Eléctrico S.A, hereinafter “CAMMESA” for its Spanish Acronym), by means of Resolution of the former Secretariat of Electric Energy No. 1085/2017- and, (2) contingent contributions of the Federal State. The trust’s reserve account must be funded, at all times, in an amount equal or greater than the yearly PPP Contractor’s required amount. Such eventual contribution will be included in every year’s national budget law.

Bidding process and bidder’s selection

The selection process will be implemented through a national and international tender process, of multiple stages, on which bidders shall: (1) make their technical bid and comply with all the requirements set forth in the bidding terms and conditions (i.e. having experience on constructing high voltage lines in Argentina and abroad); and (2) indicate its selected payment option, as well as the required amount for the Main Works and O&M Services.

The awardee shall be the bidder which indicates the lower total required amount.

Incumbent transmission companies are entitled to place bids within the bidding process, as part of their non-regulated activity.

Required guarantees

The following guarantees are mandatory and therefore required by the Executive Summary (1) a bid bond (the “Bid Bond”), (2) the financial close bond (the “Financial Close Bond”, further to the PPP Agreement’s execution), and (3) the Main Works Bond (the “Main Works Bond”, further to the PP Agreement’s execution), which all of them shall be payable on demand by the issuer.

The term for the Financial Close Bond will be of six (6) months, extendable at the PPP Contractor’s request for additional two consecutive periods of three (3) months each, financial close is achieved. Financial Close shall occur no later than twelve (12) months as from the date on which the PPP Agreement is executed.

It is not required to provide an O&M guarantee during the O&M Period.

PPP Contractor’s constitution - SPV

Before the PPP Agreement is executed, the awarded bidder shall establish a sole purpose vehicle, in the form of a corporation (Sociedad Anónima), which will act as PPP independent transmission company, under the terms of Annex 16 of The Procedures.

Other relevant matters:

  • Risks related to the execution of the Project will be allocated pursuant to a risk matrix, to be agreed by both parties.
  • The early termination of the PPP Agreement for any reason will in no event affect the repayment of unamortized investments incurred by the PPP Contractor.
  • PPP Contractor will be in charge of obtaining all necessary permits and constituting the required power line easements, pursuant to Law No. 19,552.
  • The PPP Agreement will provide for an initial stage for dispute resolution in relation for matters of a technical or financial nature, or related to the interpretation of the PPP Contract, by a dispute board. The PPP Agreement will also establish a further stage of arbitration, whether locally or abroad, which foreign venue may be set forth in accordance with the PPP Contractor’s controlling parties.

At TRS&M, we are following these matters with great interest and are available to discuss any query regarding the above.

by trsym

PPP News – Stage I Safe Roads Network and LED Luminaires

  1. Highways – Final Documents and Contracting Schedule Publication

    On January 29, 2018, Resolution No. 147/2018 issued by the National Highway Administration (hereinafter, “DNV”, for its Spanish Acronym), was published in the official gazette, which: (i) initiated the national and international procedure applicable to “Highways and Safe Roads Network – Stage 1” (the “Project”), (ii) approved the final documents for the Project, and (iii) sets forth April 3, 2018, as deadline for bid submission.

    As previously indicated in the newsletter “Public-Private Partnership Agreements. Preliminary Bidding Terms of the National and International Tender: Highways and Safe Roads Network- Stage 1”, dated as of December 21, 2017, the Project is the first procedure under the PPP regime, an innovative modality in Argentina, creating a high expectative and interest in its development.

    In addition, final documents are also available in the Undersecretariat of Public-Private Partnership’s (the “UPPP”) website.
     

  2. LED Luminaries Program

    Additionally, on January 22, 2018, a preliminary document in connection to the Public Lighting Energy Efficiency Program (hereinafter, the “Program”) was published on the web site of the UPPP. This Program is the second project under the PPP regime, and its main aspects are described below:

    1. Object of the Program

      The Program seeks to develop the energy efficiency and illumination quality of the public lighting, by means of the replacement of existing luminaries, for brand new LED technology luminaries. Therefore, the energy saved by using this new technology will have a positive impact in the maintenance costs of the public lighting network, whereas these will be ultimately reduced. This saving allows to afford the new LED luminaries installation and maintenance, as the cash flow related to such energy saving will be destined -either partially or totally- to the Program.

    2. Scope of the services

      The services to be provided by those awardees comprises:

      • Design of the LED luminaries, in accordance to high-quality standards.
      • Provision of the LED luminaries.
      • Installation and commissioning of such luminaries.
      • Waste disposal.
      • Training of municipal employees.
      • Public lighting service provision during the whole term of the PPP Contract.
    3. Contractual scheme
      • The Ministry of Energy and Mining is set forth as the entity in charge of the Program.
      • The Ministry of Energy will also act as contracting party thereof, by means of the Secretariat of Strategic Planning. Different agreements will be entered by and between the respective Governmental spheres involved in the execution of the Program.
      • The PPP Contractors will be those selected bidders.
    4. Program Stages and PPP Contractor’s works and services

      Upon selection as winner in this Program, the PPP Contractors will enter into a PPP Contract, for a total term of ten (10) years from its execution thereof. This PPP Contract will comprise two different stages: (i) Main Works construction and, (ii) Main Services provision.

      During the Main Works stage, the PPP Contractor will undertake all necessary works for the construction and commercial operation of the LED Luminaries. During the Main Works construction stage, the PPP Contractor shall conduct all the necessary works and tasks to put the luminaries into operation. The term for this stage is for a term of one (1) year, following the PPP Agreement execution.

      After the Main Works stage is completed, the Main Services provision stage will take place, for a term of nine (9) years. During the Main Services provision stage, the PPP Contractor is bound to comply with the following services: (i) LED luminaries’ maintenance; (ii) municipalities and citizens queries and claims, and (iii) elaboration of daily reports.

      In addition of these Main Works and Main Services, the Program also foresees the execution of: (i) Mandatory Additional Works –in light of public interest reasons-, and (ii) Voluntary Additional Works -proposed by the PPP Contractor-. Terms and conditions in regards to the payment of these additional works and services will be subject of regulation in the final bid documents.

    5. PPP Contractor’s income

      The PPP Contractor’s income comprises the Public Contribution (Spanish: Contraprestación Pública), which includes: (i) Availabilty contribution (Spanish: Contraprestación por Disponibilidad), linked to the Main Services during the Main Services Stage (OPEX); and (ii) Investment Contribution (Spanish: Contraprestación por Inversión), linked to the Main Works during the Main Works Stage (CAPEX).

      In regards to the Availability Contribution, Payment Availabilty Titles (“TPD”, for its Spanish acronym), will be issued in favor of the PPP Contractor, on a monthly-basis, whereas with respect to the Investment Contribution, Payment Investment Titles (“TPI”, for its Spanish acronym), will be issued in favor of the PPP Contractor. This TPI will represent the actual works executed during the respective investment period.

    6. Risk mitigation

      The PPP sets forth a risk-mitigation matrix, where the different risks that comprise the Program are assigned to each contracting party. As the PPP will be executed in EDENOR’s and EDESUR’s concession areas, these companies will act as collectors of the municipal taxes that will be affected to the Program, as a way to reduce the PPP Contractors’ payment risk. Therefore, the Program foresee that such distribution companies will collect the municipal taxes in favor of the Program, and these amounts will be then allocated to the Program.

      Additionally, for those cases where the exceeding cash flow results insufficient for the payment of the respective amount, the trustee will require the Province to allocate amounts resulting from the federal co-participation quota.

    7. Expected investment

      The Program contemplates the installation of around a hundred thousand (100,000) luminaries per year, with an expected initial investment of approximately US Dollars fifty millions (US$ 50,000,000) and annual operative costs (operation and maintenance) of approximately US Dollars two millions (US$ 2,000,000).

    8. PPP Trust

      As in the Highways Project, Stage 1, a separate PPP Trust will be created in order to administrate the necessary flows to perform the corresponding payments by the emission of the TPIs and TPDs. The trust will be funded with: (i) local municipal taxes, and (ii) contingent public contribution. The PPP Trust parties are not detailed, but it may be assumed that the National Estate – through the Ministry of Energy and Mining – will act as trustor; a financial entity as trustee; and every PPP Contractor as beneficiary.

    9. Other relevant matters
      • A risk matrix where the risk distribution between the contracting parties is available, in accordance to Section 9, subsection b) and c) of Law No. 27,328.
      • With regards to dispute resolution mechanism, a first technical instance is prescribed, following which arbitration will take place.

From TRS&M, we are following this process with much attention and we are available to expand any point developed above.

by trsym

Renewable Energy - Corporate PPA´s: New Regulation

On January 10th, Disposition No. 1-E/2018 (hereinafter, the “Regulation”) issued by the Renewable Energy Sub-Secretariat (“SSER”, for its Spanish acronym) was published in the Official Gazette. The Regulation sets guidelines regarding the registration of the renewable energy generation projects (the “Projects”) before the National Renewable Energies Project´s Registry (“RENPER” for its Spanish acronym) and priority dispatch.

The Main aspects of the Regulation are summarized below:

  1. Priority Dispatch

    • If priority dispatch requests exceed the available capacity, the tiebreak shall be done according to the energy generation factor and requested tax benefits
    • If the owner of the Project is awarded priority dispatch and fails to submit the guarantee, priority dispatch for the same Project cannot be requested for at least four (4) quarters
    • Priority dispatch can be requested for a part of the total capacity of the Project
    • The expansion of transmission capacity which provoked the congestion will extinguish priority dispatch
    • Priority dispatch for future expansions of transmission capacity is regulated
    • Priority dispatch for expansions of transmission capacity on behalf of the Owner of the Project is regulated
  2. Investment Reference Values (in USD/MW)
    Wind Energy 1.250.000
    Photovoltaic Solar Energy 850.000
    Biomass (combustion and gasification) 3.000.000
    Biogas 5.500.000
    Sanitary Landfill Biogas 2.500.000
    Small Hydro 3.000.000
  3. Maximum Amount of Tax Benefits (in USD/MW)
    Wind Energy 625.000
    Photovoltaic Solar Energy 425.000
    Biomass (combustion and gasification) 1.500.000
    Biogas 2.750.000
    Sanitary Landfill Biogas 1.250.000
    Small Hydro 1.500.000
  4. RENPER

    • The registration before the RENPER shall be done by a formal presentation before the Renewable Energy Sub-Secretariat, that will be replaced, in the future, by Distance Procedure Platform (“TAD”, for its Spanish acronym)
    • Projects who have qualified under Program RenovAr are exempted to submit the technical information and are entitled to request the Inclusion Certificate for the tax benefits approved by the pertaining RenovAr Round up to the maximum available value
    • Registration procedure, requests and compliance deadlines are regulated
    • The RENPER will be made public at the Ministry of Energy and Mining´s website

Do not hesitate to contact us for further information.

by trsym

Electric Energy: “Critical Project” status and Tax Benefit procedure

On January 2 the Ministry of Energy and Mining (hereinafter, the “MEyM”) and the Ministry of Production (hereinafter, the “MP” for its Spanish acronym), issued Joint Resolution No. 4-E/2017 (hereinafter, the “Resolution”), which introduced the applicable procedure so as to obtain a “Critical Project” status, in the terms of Section 34 of Law No. 26.422 (hereinafter, the “Law”).

Section 34 of the Law foresees an exemption from import duties, statistic rates and tax-checking duties with regards to new imported goods, which are destinated to infrastructure works related to: (i) generation, transportation and distribution of electric energy, (ii) oil and gas up-stream and down-stream; (iii) construction of oil processing plants and expansion of those already in use; and (iv) oil and gas transportation, storage and/or distribution.

The Resolution is applicable to owners of wind farm projects, which have been awarded with a PPA under RenovAr 1, 1.5, and Resolutions No. 202/2016 and 168/2017 issued by the MEyM.

Main aspects of the Resolution are summarized below:

  1. Beneficiaries

    As indicated above, the Resolution shall only apply to owners of wind farm projects that have executed a PPA within RenovAr 1, 1.5 and Resolutions 202/16 and 168 /2017. Thus, the application of the benefits contained therein is not applicable to those projects under RenovAr 2.

  2. Comprised Goods

    The benefits are only applicable in regards to wind turbine generators (equal or greater than 700 kW), with tariff code 8502.31.00, as per indicated in the respective inclusion certificate. In the event that these wind turbine generators –and is tariff code- was not contained in the inclusion certificate, the applicants may request the Sub-Secretariat of Renewable Energy its insertion thereto.

  3. Application of the tax benefit

    The beneficiaries will benefit of this tax benefit to the extent that the exempted goods are solely allocated to the wind farm projects mentioned above.

  4. Time frame

    The “Critical Project” status may be requested until January 31, of current 2018, whereby the importation of the wind turbines must be complied on or before December 31, 2019.

  5. Applicable procedure

    The procedure establishes, inter alia, the following steps that must be complied so as to obtain the “Critical Project” status: (i) a benefit request application must be submitted before the MEyM; (ii) the “Company Information” form must be attached to such request; (iii) legal representative’s faculties must be accredited, (iv) project individualization; (v) affidavit that the applicants are not included in any of the Subsections a) and d) of Section 12 of Law No. 26.360; (vi) incorporation of the applicable goods to the Inclusion Certificate request, if applicable; and (vii) compliance of Hazardous Waste Law No. 24.051 and Chemicals Components Law No. 24.040 affidavit.

    Once the requirements have been fulfilled, a first stage of analysis by CAMMESA is carried out, jointly with the Direction of Renewable Energies. If documentation and/or information is uncompleted or insufficient, these organisms may, an additional 10 day term is contained so as to comply with such requirements.

    The procedure concludes with a Resolution to be issued by Sub-Secretariat of Renewable Energy, which shall be notified to the applicant and informed to the MP and AFIP.

At TRS&M, as a leading Law Firm in the electricity sector, we are following these developments with great detail and are available to discuss any query regarding the above.

by trsym

Renewable Energy: Distributed Generation

On December the 27th, Law No. 27,424 regarding “Renewable Energy Distributed Generation Promotion Program” was published on the Official Gazette (hereinafter, the “Law”).

The Law declares distributed generation as national interest and establishes the legal and contractual conditions for the generation of renewable energy for users of the distribution grid for self-consumption and eventual delivery of surplus electricity to the network (the “Projects”).

Main aspects:

  1. Targeted Users
    • Users connected to the distribution grid are allowed to install the necessary equipment to generate distributed energy for a power capacity equivalent to the one contracted with the distribution company.
    • An authorization from the distribution company is requested.
    • Projects regarding the construction of national public buildings must include distributed generation systems from renewable resources.
    • An efficient energy system will be proposed for the existing public buildings.
  2. Connection Authorization
    • It shall be required to the distribution company.
    • Term for issuance: the same as established by the local regulation for the electricity meters.
    • It cannot be denied when the equipment has been certified.
    • The distribution company will technically asses the safety of the Project.
    • Once the Project is technically approved, the user-generator and the distribution company will execute an agreement.
    • Installation costs cannot exceed the costs for changing or installing electricity meters.
    • Penalties are established for distribution companies who do not comply with the terms established by the Law.
  3. Billing

    Every distribution company will compensate the generated electricity with the consumed electricity for each user, according to the following guidelines:

    • The user-generator shall be entitled to a special rate for the electricity delivered to the grid, according to the seasonal price.
    • The billing shall reflect the volume of required energy and the amount of the electricity delivered to the grid. The user shall pay the net result of those values.
    • Shall there be a surplus in favor of the user-generator, it will constitute a credit for future billings. If the credit is not cancelled, the user-generator can request such credit to the distribution company. The credits can be assigned between users interconnected to the same distribution company.
  4. Enforcement Authority

    The Law´s enforcement authority will be empowered to:

    • Issue technical and regulatory rules for the approval of the Project.
    • Issue technical rules and guidelines for interconnection authorizations to the grid.
    • Act as a trustor.
    • Fix the rate for the electricity delivered to the grid.
    • Settle the general guidelines for the agreements.
  5. FODIS

    The Law established the Renewable Energy Distributed Generation Fund (“FODIS” for its Spanish acronym).

    • Purpose: the use of the trust assets for the granting of loans, incentives, warranties, capital contributions and acquisitions of other financial instruments for the development of the Projects.
    • Parties: the enforcement authority will act as trustor and a public financial entity as the trustee. The owners of the Projects shall be the beneficiaries of the fund.
    • Trust Assets: (i) resources of the national budget that cannot be lower than the fifty per cent (50%) of the effective saving in fossil fuels due to the electricity generated by the Projects; (ii) principal and interest recovery of the granted financing; (iii) resources granted by multilateral agencies; and (iv) incomes earned from the issuance of fiduciary values.
    • Instruments: (i) provide funds and grant loans; (ii) partially credit or subsidize interest rate of granted loans; (iii) grant incentives; and (iv) finance the diffusion, investigation and development of activities related to the application of these technologies.
    • Exemption: The FODIS and the trustee will be exempted to pay national taxes for transactions related to the FODIS.
  6. Promotional Benefits
    • FODIS will established, for twelve (12) years, extendable for the same term, bonuses for the acquisition of the equipment as a promotional benefit.
    • The enforcement authority can establish a tax certificate for national taxes as a promotional benefit.
    • The enforcement authority will give priority for promotional benefits for national equipment.
    • A maximum cap for Tax Benefits of pesos two hundred million ($ 200,000,000) is expected for 2017 in order to be used as promotional benefits.
  7. FANSIGED
    • Finally, the Law established the “Promotion Regime for the National Manufacture of Systems, Equipment and Inputs related to Distributed Generation” (“FANSIFED” for its Spanish acronym) for a ten-year term, extendable for the same term.
    • The activities benefit from the Promotional Regimen are the investigation, design, investment in capital goods, production, certification and install services for distributed generation.
    • The incentives are: (i) tax certificates; (ii) income tax accelerated amortization; (iii) VAT anticipated reimbursement; (iv) access to finance with preferential rates; and (v) access to the Supplier Development Program.
    • Only micro, small and medium-sized enterprises can request promotional benefits.
    • A budget cap of pesos two hundred million ($ 200,000,000) to be assigned to promotional benefits for the current fiscal year is established.

At TRS&M, we are following these projects with great interest and are available to discuss any query regarding the above.

by trsym