Failure to meet the conditions necessary for the connection of a property to the electricity grid as a reason for refusal to conclude a connection agreement in the light of court rulings.

Abstract

Energy enterprises engaged in the transmission or distribution of gaseous fuels or energy are obliged under the Energy Law to conclude grid connection agreements with entities that fulfil the connection conditions. The legislator has left these undertakings a discretionary leeway visible both at the stage of verifying the fulfilment of connection conditions, which are not specified under the Act in question, and in deciding whether to refuse to conclude a connection agreement. Increasingly, energy companies are exercising their right to refuse to conclude a connection agreement, which justifies an interpretation of the definition of the conditions contained in Article 7 of the Energy Law. One of them is the possession of a legal title to use the property, which, due to the lack of definition, also raises reasonable doubts. Among others, preliminary lease agreements, which are not recognised as legal title to use real estate by some energy companies, are commonly used in legal circulation. An analysis of the provisions of the Energy Law justifies the postulate to specify the conditions necessary for grid connection, and it is also worth considering the nature of the entitlement of the entity applying for grid connection.