On 8 January, the Department of Administrative Cases of the Supreme Court at proceeded to review a cassation claim submitted by the applicant SIA “Grev” regarding the rights of small hydroelectric power plant to receive compensation for loss from the Public Utilities Commission. The Supreme Court has closed the case and established that the judgment will be available on 7 February.

At the previous hearing, on 6 November 2017, the court heard the opinion of the Ministry of Economics and postponed the hearing for the interpretation of the documents submitted by the Ministry of Economics.

In June 2015, the Supreme Court stayed proceedings until the entry into force of the final European Commission Decision in case No SA37970 "Support for Energy Producers".

It shall be established, whether the applicant – the small hydroelectric power plant – is entitled to receive compensation for loss from the Public Utilities Commission. The loss consists of the income foregone of the applicant, and the reason is the fact that the Public Utilities Commission unlawfully failed to determine the average electricity sales tariff during the period from 1 March 2006 to 1 April 2011 and the applicant was not able to sell electricity to the public trader at a price, determined using this tariff.

The Administrative Regional Court rejected the application. The Court found that the Supreme Court by the judgment of 11 March 2010 in the case No SKA-6/2010 (A42379306) established that the commission is competent to determine such a tariff; it was also established by the decision of the Constitutional Court in case No 2009-14-01. At the same time, the Regional Court acknowledged that, as the actual and legal circumstances (liberalization of the electricity market) change, the applicant had no reason to demand that the price be paid to her constituting an unacceptably high state aid, and thus contradicts the second part of Section 35 of the Law on Control of Aid for Commercial Activity.

 

Information prepared by Baiba Kataja, the Press Secretary of the Supreme Court

Tel.: +371 67020396; e-mail: baiba.kataja@at.gov.lv