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Energy Efficiency Certificates (TEE, also called white certificates) were
established by the Decrees adopted by the Ministry of Productive Activities in
consultation with the Ministry of Environment and Land Protection on 20 July
2004 (Ministerial Decree of 20 Jul. 2004 on electricity,
Ministerial Decree of 20 Jul. 2004 on gas), as
subsequently amended and supplemented.
Gestore dei Mercati Energetici (GME) issues TEE to: i) parties as referred in Article 5 of the Ministerial Decree of 11.01.2017 on the basis of the achieved energy savings that Gestore dei Servizi Energetici – GSE S.p.A. (GSE)
reports to GME pursuant to applicable dispositions. GME also issues TEE referred to certificates of
type II, which give proof of energy savings obtained in high-efficiency combined heat & power
(or cogeneration) plants (CAR). These savings are certified by GSE in compliance with the Decree
of the Minister of Economic Development of 5 Sep. 2011.
TEE (each of which is worth 1 toe) are distinguished into the following types,
according to Ministerial Decree of January 11, 2017:
- Type I, certifying the achievement of primary energy savings through projects
reducing final electricity consumption;
- Type II, certifying the achievement of primary energy savings through
projects reducing natural-gas consumption;
- Type III, certifying the achievement of savings of forms of primary energy
other than electricity and natural gas and not used for transport;
- Type IV, certifying the achievement of savings of forms of primary energy
other than electricity and gas in the transport sector.
The obliged entities, (or the Electricity and natural-gas distributors) may achieve their energy efficiency
improvement targets both by implementing energy efficiency projects (and gaining
TEE) and by purchasing TEE from other parties. GME organises and manages:
- the venue where TEE are traded (Energy Efficiency Certificates Market - MTEE)
in compliance with the Rules of Operation of the Energy Efficiency Certificates
Market (adopted by AEEG’s Decision no. 67 of 14 Apr. 2005 and subsequently
amended and supplemented.
In the MTEE, with the “unified” operating mode (pursuant to Article 16, paragraph 3, of the Ministerial Decree of 11 January 2017):
- distributors buy TEE, if the savings achieved through their projects lie below
their yearly target and they thus have to buy the missing TEE in the market in order to
fulfil their obligation;
- distributors sell TEE, if the savings achieved through their projects exceed
their yearly target and they may thus make a profit by selling their surplus TEE
in the market;
- other eligible parties/companies may sell the TEE that they have
obtained through independent projects, as they are not required to fulfil any
obligation and may thus make a profit by selling their TEE in the market;
- all the parties admitted to the market may sell and purchase TEE.
- the TEE Register, i.e. the electronic database of energy efficiency certificates consisting of ownership accounts,
composed of two sections on which GME records: i) in the first, the number of TEE issued in favour of the account
holder with the indication of the relevant type; ii) in the second, the total number of TEE held by the account owner,
without any indication of the type (in “unified” operating mode (pursuant to Article 16, paragraph 3, of the Ministerial Decree of 11 January 2017)), consisting of all TEE:
- issued by GME in favor of the account owner
- resulting from the negotiations that took place on the TEE Market
- resulting from registrations made in the TEE Register after the bilateral negotiations concluded outside the TEE Market
- subject to blocking, withdrawal or cancellation operations
Pursuant to Article 11, of the Ministerial Decree dated 11 January 2017, the cost coverage incurred by the obliged electricity and natural gas distributors - in compliance with the individual obligations to increase energy efficiency - is carried out according to methods defined by ARERA, to an extent that reflects the trend in the prices of White Certificates found on the organized market (TEE Market), as well as registered on bilateral exchanges (within the TEE Register) by defining a maximum recognition value (or Tariff based contribution). This maximum value is defined and updated also taking into account what mentioned in Article 11-bis of the Ministerial Decree 11 January 2017, in order to keep compliance with efficiency criteria in defining charges and therefore the system costs. The rules for defining the Tariff contribution are defined by ARERA pursuant to Resolution 270/2020/R/EFR.
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