GENERAL PRINCIPLES

FOR THE ALLOCATION OF IMBALANCES

IN THE STANDARD BALANCING GROUP

WITH COORDINATOR EL BONUS EOOD

These General Principles for the Allocation of Imbalances within the Standard Balancing Group of EL BONUS EOOD („General Principles“) contain the general rules and conditions for the allocation of imbalances and imbalance costs between the individual participants in the Standard Balancing Group of EL BONUS EOOD.

A. General provisions

1.     EL BONUS EOOD (the „Company“) is registered in the Commercial Register at the Registry Agency, with UIC 131381543, with seat and management address in Sofia, 1000, Sredets region,  11A Aksakov Str., fl. 4, office 2.

2.     The Company holds License for trading in electricity № Л-484-15 from 16.03.2017, with included rights and obligations of „coordinator of standard balancing group“ and „coordinator of combined balancing group“, pursuant to Article 39, paragraph 5 of the Energy Act (EA), issued by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission /„EWRC“/.

3.     The Company is registered as a coordinator of a standard balancing group in the public register of the Electricity System Operator EAD (ESO EAD), pursuant to Article 65 of the Electricity Trading Rules („ETR“ or „the Rules“) with status „active“.

4.     A member of the standard balancing group may be a commercial participant of the electricity market (consumer, producer or trader), registered on the balancing energy market, and having fulfilled its obligations to join the standard balancing group with coordinator EL BONUS EOOD.

5.     The basis for determining the imbalances in the group are the aggregated measured values of production, consumption and physical exchanges attributed to the coordinator. If there is a difference between the measured and estimated electricity data for each hour (settlement period), an energy shortage, respectively an energy surplus is formed, or these are the imbalances to be allocated.

6.     The imbalances of each balancing group shall be determined by the Electricity System Operator in accordance with the provisions of Article 177 of ETR.

7.     These General Principles are adopted by EL BONUS EOOD in its capacity as a Coordinator of a balancing group who  has the right to amend and supplement these General Principles. In case of an amendment and/or supplement to the General Principles, EL BONUS EOOD updates the published General Principles on its website.

B.  Principles for allocating imbalances

The General principles according to which the Coordinator carries out the allocation of imbalances between the participants in the standard balancing group of EL BONUS EOOD are:

1.   Equality and fairness;

2.   Proportionality - The Coordinator shall allocate imbalances among the members according to the weight they contribute to the group's imbalances;

3.   Transparency, accuracy and clarity – the participants receive information on both their individual imbalances and costs of imbalances and the total imbalances and costs of the group.

C.  Determination of imbalances and their pricing

1.     Upon receipt of the validated measured values, EL BONUS EOOD, in its capacity of Coordinator of the standard balancing group, shall determine the total imbalances of each consumer/producer in the standard balancing group, with respect to the metering locations of the respective network, for each settlement period.

2.     The total production of a producer in the standard balancing group of EL BONUS EOOD is equal to the sum of the total production of the producer's sites for which EL BONUS EOOD has assumed responsibility for balancing.

3.     The total consumption of a producer in the standard balancing group of EL BONUS EOOD shall be equal to the sum of the total consumption of the consumer's premises for which EL BONUS EOOD has assumed responsibility for balancing.

4.     The coordinator calculates the individual hourly imbalance of each group member.

5.     In the event of non-fulfilment by the producer, in its capacity of a seller, of its obligations arising from the concluded contract for sale-purchase and balancing of electricity with EL BONUS EOOD, in its capacity of a trader/coordinator, for notification of circumstances that would in any way affect the production of electricity from the producer's sites, as well as for restrictions in the production of the producer's sites imposed by the competent authorities, EL BONUS EOOD shall be entitled to charge the producer for the cost of any imbalance caused by the producer in accordance with the following methodology:

5.1.        The registered daily hourly electricity production schedules from the producer's sites for the relevant calendar month of delivery are imposed one after the other and a monthly hourly production schedule of the producer is obtained.

5.2.        EL BONUS EOOD receives from the relevant network operator the data and readings from the commercial metering devices at the point of connection of the producer's sites, by means of xml files, concerning the measured amount of net electricity for the reporting period, produced by the producer's sites.

5.3.        On the basis of the data referred to in items 5.1. and 5.2., for the respective reporting period, EL BONUS EOOD shall calculate the hourly difference of the quantities of electricity according to the production schedule minus the measured quantities of electricity according to the commercial metering devices for each hour. As a result of the calculations, an energy shortage or energy surplus is formed for each hour (settlement period).

5.4.        The formed amount of energy surplus for the respective hour for the reporting period shall be multiplied by the respective price for each hour of ESO EAD for surplus on the balancing market (in BGN/MWh). The realized imbalance cost shall be paid by the producer under the terms and conditions agreed in the contract and its annexes for payment of the amounts of the invoices issued under the contract.

5.5.        The generated amount of energy shortage for the respective hour for the reporting period shall be multiplied by the respective price for each hour of ESO (Electricity System Operator EAD) for shortage on the balancing market (in BGN/MWh). The realized imbalance cost shall be paid by the producer under the terms and conditions agreed in the contract and its annexes for payment of the amounts of the invoices issued under the contract.

6.     The Coordinator shall perform quantitative and financial settlement on a monthly basis.

7.     At the end of each month, based on the total imbalances for that period, the balancing energy between the coordinator and the group members is invoiced.

8.     The Coordinator shall determine the price of balancing energy in the energy shortage and energy surplus group necessary to mutually compensate the imbalances of the participants in the standard balancing group for each settlement period.

9.     EL BONUS EOOD shall carry out transactions with energy imbalances with the participants in the standard balancing group at the shortage price and surplus price determined by the Electricity system operator under the ETR in the following cases:

-  where the energy surplus of one or several participants in the standard balancing group is not sufficient to cover the energy shortage of another or several other participants in the group,

-  where the energy surplus of one or more participants in the standard balancing group exceeds the amount of energy needed to cover the energy shortage of the other participants in the group.

10. All additional costs incurred as a result of a change in the regulatory framework, incl. but not limited to changes in the market model, pricing methodologies or the methodology of ESO for settlement of imbalances and determination of balancing energy prices for each settlement period, changes and/or acts adopted by EWRC and/or other competent authority, are charged by EL BONUS EOOD and are paid by the participant from the date of entry into force of the changes until the expiration of the contract concluded between EL BONUS EOOD and the participant pursuant to provided information on the size and methodology of the formation of the costs.

11. Under the terms of these General Principles, the Coordinator charges the individual imbalances (surplus and shortage) which are paid by the Participant in the following cases:

11.1. in case of deviations of more than 8% (eight percent) from the estimated schedule (positive and negative) in a given settlement period by each producer participating in the balancing group, regardless of the primary energy source;

11.2. in case of deviations of more than 3% (three percent) from the estimated schedule (positive and negative) in a given settlement period by each user participating in the balancing group.

11.3. upon events or changes of an extraordinary nature leading to a 10% (ten percent) increase in balancing costs or additional balancing costs.

D. Participation in the standard balancing group with Coordinator EL BONUS EOOD

In relation to the participation of producers of electricity from renewable energy sources, the Coordinator of the standard balancing group shall conclude a Contract with NEK EAD, in accordance with Article 11, item 14 of the Electricity Trading Rules for.

Conditions for inclusion in the balancing group of EL BONUS EOOD:

1.     Submission an application to the Standard Balancing Group Coordinator that contains the following information:

-        participant's details and current coordinator, if there is such;

-        a desired date for joining the group, which shall not be earlier than thirty (30) calendar days after the application for participation in the Standard Balancing Group has been sent and always from the 1st of the month;

-        hourly data for requested and actually produced energy by the participant for the last 6 months.

2.     The Coordinator shall verify the data received, prepare an analysis of the effect of the applicant's possible participation in the group and respond within 7 (seven) days in writing for the applicant's consent to participate in the balancing group or shall reasonably refuse to accept the applicant as a participant in the balancing group.

3.     After fulfillment of the conditions under item 1 and confirmation by EL BONUS EOOD, the participant concludes a contract with the EL BONUS EOOD Coordinator, which regulates his participation in the balancing group.

4.     The conditions in these General Principles applied with priority over the individual contracts of the participants in the balancing group with the Coordinator EL BONUS EOOD.

These General Principles for the Allocation of Imbalances within the Standard Balancing Group of EL BONUS EOOD are produced in accordance with the requirements of Article 58, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Electricity Trading Rules.

In case of a contradiction between the text in Bulgarian and in English, the Bulgarian text shall prevail.