About us in brief
The Law on the Danish Utility Regulator of July 1st 2018 established the Danish Utility Regulator (DUR). The law seeks to maintain a strong and effective supervision of the utility sectors – electricity, natural gas and district heating.
The Danish Utility Regulator’s purpose is securing consumer interests in the utility sectors by striving for a higher level of efficiency, the lowest possible costs in the short and long term, a stable and secure supply, and a cost-effective development in technology and climate-friendly initiatives.
The Danish Utility Regulator carries out its tasks with the following in mind:
- Administration of the regulation and supervision of the utility sectors in accordance with the sector laws;
- Analyzing and monitoring the utility sectors with the purpose of reaching a higher level of transparency in the utility sectors;
- Contributing to reaching the goals set in the sector laws and providing stable framework conditions for suppliers;
- Creating effectively integrated supply markets in accordance with national legislation and EU regulation.
The Danish Utility Regulator’s tasks are set out in the Law on The Danish Utility Regulator as well as the sector laws, which includes Law on Electricity Supply, Law on Natural Gas Supply, Law on District Heating Supply, Law on the Promotion of Renewable Energy, Law on the Promotion of Savings in Energy Consumption, and EU regulation.
This entails that we:
- Monitor and analyze conditions in the utility sectors essential to the Danish Utility Regulator’s tasks;
- Monitor and analyze conditions in the utility sectors with the purpose of making proposals for development of legislation;
- Provide information and analysis of matters in the utility sectors at the request of the Minister for Energy, Utility, and Climate
- Regulate prices for services from the electricity distribution companies and natural gas distribution companies in accordance with an income framework determined by the Danish Utility Regulator for each company in order to cover the company’s cost of efficient operation of the required activity and return on capital invested;
- Benchmark the electricity distribution companies’ and natural gas distribution companies’ economic efficiency for calculating an individual efficiency requirement. In addition, the Danish Utility Regulator calculates a general efficiency requirement imposed on electricity distribution companies and natural gas distribution companies;
- Administer the economic regulation of Energinet, including ensuring merely necessary costs are included prices;
- Set a price cap on heat from waste incineration plants.
We approve:
- Terms, conditions, and methods for access to the distribution and transmission networks in the electricity and gas markets;
- Aspects of cross-border infrastructure projects in the electricity and gas markets;
- Methods in terms of market participants’ access to and use of data from the data hub;
- Annual reports from all municipalities regarding the receipt of dividends or remuneration from energy companies providing the basis for set-off in municipal block subsidies;
- Methods, conditions, and terms for the system operator’s operation of the electricity transmission network;
- Connection requirements for power generation and consumption units for the transmission and distribution network;
- Connection requirements for high voltage systems on DC to the transmission grid;
- Return on share capital in the district heating sector.
We supervise:
- Standardized guidelines from the energy industries’ organizations for determining access conditions for energy customers;
- Electricity retailers’ compliance with the obligation to supply consumers with energy;
- That costs related to the disruption of a consumer’s supply due to termination of an agreement are borne by the consumer;
- The obligation of electricity retailers to ensure relevant and accurate information is available at any time on all products, including prices and terms on the electricity retailers’ website;
- Network and distribution companies’ costs for energy savings in the energy, natural gas and district heating sectors;
- The collective energy companies’ agreements in relation to market demands, the provisions in the supply laws, requirements for independence, and non-discrimination. This applies to separate identity, rules regarding independence, and the companies’ implementation of internal monitoring programs to ensure compliance;
- Compliance with EU Regulation on integrity and transparency in the electricity and natural gas wholesale markets (REMIT);
- That the Danish natural gas and energy infrastructure is compatible with the European network development plans;
- That district heating companies only include necessary costs in heating prices;
- Disputes about tariffs and conditions for access to the gas inflow system.
Furthermore, we:
- Establish and maintain the electricity price guide on elpris.dk with information on electricity prices, discounts, and terms in the Danish electricity market;
- Compile price statistics and monitor price developments on retail and wholesale markets for electricity and gas;
- Compile price statistics and monitor the prices of heat on the Danish district heating market;
- Compile district heating statistics and heat price statistics.
- Collaborate with the European Supervisory Authorities in ACER, CEER and NordREG on the development of effective wholesale and retail markets for electricity and gas.