EU rules for connecting electricity consumers to the grid have gained a key approval from an EU committee of national government officials, EU electricity transmission system operators' formal body Entso-e said late Friday.
"[This] is a very important step for the development of demand response in Europe," Entso-e secretary-general Konstantin Staschus said.
The rules, known as a network code, set out how large demand interacts with the grid, including the basic functional requirements for electricity users who want to feed power back into the grid from small-scale renewable generation units.
As more solar and wind-power generators are installed, for example in homes, local distribution networks are at times becoming electricity suppliers to the main transmission grid, Entso-e said on its website.
It said TSOs needed common, clear rules for everyone connecting to the EU grid in order to be able to plan effectively and maintain system security.
This is the third grid connection code that Entso-e has drafted under a process set out in the EU's third energy package, which also involves the European Commission, EU energy regulatory agency ACER, national governments and grid users.
The EU committee approved the first two, for generators and high voltage direct current lines, in June and September respectively.
The next step is for the codes to be scrutinized by the European Parliament and the EU Council, representing the EU's 28 national governments.
If they do not object, the EC can make the codes binding by publishing them in the EU's Official Journal.
That could happen by the end of this year for the generator connection code, and by mid-2016 for the other two.
