Law firm for setting up an energy cooperative
Whether an energy cooperative can use the statutory settlement scheme turns on conditions tested long before registration: the composition of its membership, the area in which it operates, its generating sources and the consumption of its members. Below we set out what such a matter requires of counsel and who leads this area at HWW.
What this matter requires of counsel
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Tests the statutory conditions before drafting the statute
The status of an energy cooperative depends on conditions covering, among other things, the number of members, the area of operation, the capacity of the sources and the relation between energy generated and energy consumed by members. A statute drafted before those conditions are tested may describe an entity that cannot use the preferential settlement scheme.
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Carries the matter through to the filing and the operator agreements
Registration is one stage only. Using the settlement scheme also calls for entry in the register kept by the competent authority and for orderly relations with the distribution system operator, so the engagement should span that whole sequence.
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Tells a cooperative apart from a cluster and other models of cooperation
A cooperative, an energy cluster and a citizen energy community are distinct constructions with distinct conditions. The choice of model should follow from the aims and composition of the group, not from the label that came up first.
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Sets the rules for members joining and leaving
Shared generating infrastructure calls for rules covering the admission of a new member, the departure of an existing one and the management of assets. Where those rules are missing, the gap surfaces at the first change in membership.
What we have done in this area
HWW guided a founding group through the entire process of establishing an energy cooperative: it verified the statutory prerequisites, drafted the charter, supported the reporting of the cooperative to the NEB list and the conclusion of agreements with the DSO, and the registered cooperative obtained the status entitling it to the preferential energy billing system. Each case has its own facts, so this outcome does not predetermine another.
Further described matters are listed under our track record.
What we have written on this topic
- A comprehensive process for establishing an energy cooperative →
- Energy cooperative – what is it, is it worth setting up and how to do it? →
- Energy clusters vs energy cooperatives – which model to choose for your business? →
- Energy cooperatives and VAT: When does the ‘supply’ of energy not require an invoice? →
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