EECS

CHP Model

EECS

EECS PRO: Principles & Rules of Operation

Standard Terms & Conditions

DOMAIN PROTOCOLS

MARKET INFORMATION

THE EUROPEAN ENERGY CERTIFICATE SYSTEM (EECS)

EECS: THE DETAILED CONCEPT

Each EECS certificate is uniquely identifiable, transferable and therefore tradable, and contains standard information on the source of the energy, and its method of production.

The Principles and Rules of Operation (the PRO) of the European Energy Certificate System (EECS) defines a certificate as representing the entire benefit of this form of energy, and relates to a specific purpose – such as energy source disclosure or compliance with an obligation etc. It also prohibits certificate holders and parties represented by them from separately claiming or conferring rights or title to any element of this benefit, and for this purpose.

Certificates are created (issued), change owners (transferred) and are eventually cancelled - made untransferrable - under a carefully developed and managed control infrastructure.

Issuing and transferring of certificates takes place according to the rules set out in the PRO, as interpreted in each regime or "domain", in a "Domain Protocol". The adequacy of this interpretation is assured by the members of the AIB as a pre-condition of membership.

EECS - THE REGULATIONS

The certificate issuing activities of members of the AIB are regulated by means of the Principles and Rules of Operation ("the PRO") of the European Energy Certificate System (EECS) at an international level; and the Domain Protocols, which set out how the EECS PRO has been implemented in a specific domain (this may be a region or a country).

The PRO and its supporting documents comprise:

Principles & Rules of Operation - the PRO
The PRO was originally known as the "Basic Commitment". This document sets out the common international standard to which all members of AIB subscribe.

The Chapters
The PRO is supported by "Chapters", each setting out the details of specific schemes. Three such Chapters currently exist, setting out the peculiarities of Guarantees of Origin (GO) and RECS Certificates, which address renewable energy; and EECS Disclosure certificates, which can be used for any sort of energy, including fossil and nuclear.

Subsidiary Documents
The detailed provisions of the PRO are set out in "Subsidiary Documents" (SDs), which address matters relating to: assessment panels, voting rights, registration databases, members' agents and measurement bodies, change management, assignment of codes and periodic reviews.

Fact Sheets
Transient and/or advisory information is set out in "Fact Sheets", providing lists of PRO Fact Sheets and Subsidiary Documents, types of Public Support, member codes, permissible energy sources and technology types, addresses for PRO notices and members of each scheme. There is also a Fact Sheet offering guidelines and framework for domain protocols.

CMO-CMO Schemes
XML Schema are proposed for use by registries in interpreting files transferred between Central Monitoring Offices (CMOs).

Standard Terms & Conditions
The Standard Terms & Conditions template provides guidelines for preparing standard terms and conditions between issuing bodies and market participants.

GUIDELINES ON CONSULTATION PRACTICES

The Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) has approved the following guidelines recognising in particular:

The importance of consultation in providing expert input and views on draft proposals;
The need for a flexible approach to consultation (one that can be adapted according to the significance and urgency of an issue); and
The need to ensure a high quality to consultation.

In carrying out consultations, the AIB will be guided by a number of principles, several of which reflect the European Union's approach to better regulation, and are based themselves on the European Regulators Group for Electricity and Gas (ERGEG) document "Public Guidelines on ERGEG's Consultation Practices".

Guidelines on AIB Consultation Practices - version 2