Road Map and Action Plan for Azerbaijan on harmonisation of standards and codes in electricity and gas sectors

Transcription

1 Road Map and Action Plan for Azerbaijan on harmonisation of standards and codes in electricity and gas sectors INOGATE Technical Secretariat and Integrated Programme in Support of the Baku Initiative and the Eastern Partnership Energy Objectives Contract 2011/ A project within the INOGATE Programme Implemented by: Ramboll Denmark A/S (lead partner) EIR Development Partners Ltd. The British Standards Institution LDK Consultants S.A. MVV decon GmbH ICF International Statistics Denmark Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar 1

2 Document title Document status Road Map and Action Plan for Azerbaijan on harmonisation of standards and codes in electricity and gas sectors Final draft Prepared by Name Dr. Viktor Petrenko, Mr. Robert Jeanjean, Mr. Leonid Malov Date Updated by Dr. Viktor Petrenko Checked by Dr. Viktor Petrenko Mr. Volodymyr Yakubov Mr. Nikos Tsakalidis, KE2 Adrian Twomey Approved by Mr. Peter Larsen, Project Director 13/03/2015 This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. 2

3 Abbreviations AM AP AZ BY СЕN СЕNЕLEC CIS DCFTA DVGW EASC EU GE IDT IEC ISO ITC KG KZ MARCOGAZ MD MOD NEQ NIS NS NSB OEVGW PC RM ТC TEG TJ TM Armenia Action Plan Azerbaijan Belarus European Committee for Standardisation European Committee for Electro technical Standardisation Commonwealth of Independent States Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement German Gas and Water Association Eurasian Interstate Council for standardisation, metrology and certification European Union Georgia Identical International Electrotechnical Commission International Organisation for Standardisation Interstate Technical Committee for Standardisation Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan Technical Association of the European Natural Gas Industry Republic of Moldova Modified Not equivalent National Institute of Standardisation National Standard National Standardisation Body Austrian Association for Gas and Water Partner Country Road Map Technical Committee (standardisation unit) Technical Expert Group Tajikistan Turkmenistan 3

4 UA UZ Ukraine Uzbekistan 4

5 Table of Contents Abbreviations... 3 Executive Summary Introduction Current standardization situation, expected achievements by 2018 and recommendations Development of political, trade and economic cooperation Division of technical regulation into mandatory and voluntary parts Compliance of the national technical regulation system with the principles of European New Approach Compliance of national standardisation system with the international and European practice Independence of standardisation bodies Procedure for the adoption of international and regional standards Technical Committees for standardisation Participation in international and regional standardisation Participation in international standardisation Participation in European standardisation Participation in EASC standardisation Priority standards identified by the ITS Experts for Azerbaijan Azerbaijan s National Programme for adoption of priority electricity standards Azerbaijan National Programme for the adoption of priority gas standards Procedure for the adoption of Codes of Practice Action Plan Key areas and stages of activities to ensure effective adoption of international and European electricity and gas standards by Azerbaijan Level of development of political, trade and economic cooperation Splitting of Technical Regulations into Mandatory and Voluntary Parts Compliance of the national system of technical regulations with the principles of the EU New Approach Compliance of the national standardisation system with the generally accepted international and European principles Country's participation in international, European and interstate standardisation Adoption and introduction of gas and electricity standards Adoption of electricity standards having high regional priority Adoption of priority electricity standards in Azerbaijan Adoption of priority gas standards in Azerbaijan Conclusion Annex I List of electricity standards recommended for adoption by Azerbaijan in the framework of regional and national programmes Annex II Priority gas standards recommended for adoption by Azerbaijan as national standards Annex III DVGW Technical Rules recommended for introduction in Azerbaijan

6 Tables Table 3.1. List of standards on specification and requirements to electrical equipment, which is not listed by the Energy Community Secretariat but recommended for national adoption by Azerbaijan in

7 Executive Summary The present Road Map and Action Plan has been developed as part of the EU-funded project INOGATE Technical Secretariat and Integrated Programme in Support of the Baku Initiative and the Eastern Partnership Energy Objectives, under the activity B-2 on the Harmonisation of Standards and Codes in the Partner Countries (PCs). In line with the ToR, the ITS has used the list of standards and codes adopted by the Energy Community Treaty (ECT) Secretariat, which has been updated and completed with standards recommended by the Technical Association of the European Natural Gas Industry (MARCOGAZ) and the German Gas and Water Association (DVGW). The knowledge and experience of harmonising standards has been discussed with the representatives of the PCs through regular regional seminars. For the development of the Road Map, the approach adopted is to involve authorised and competent representatives of Azerbaijan as members of a dedicated Technical Experts Group (TEG) on Standardisation. Regional seminars conducted once in every six months are not only aimed at increasing their knowledge on pressing standardisation issues, but they also serve as a forum for the exchange of experience on Road Map development in the INOGATE Partner Countries. The Road Map and Action Plan establishes: regional and national priorities for adoption of international and European gas and electricity standards by Azerbaijan. These priorities are taken from the relevant lists of the Energy Community Secretariat; the main factors hindering effective adoption and implementation by Azerbaijan of these international and European standards. It should be noted that the adoption of international and European standards used by the EU gas industry presents particular issues due to the self-regulating nature of this industry. In addition to standards, the gas industry commonly uses technical rules and codes which are necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the industry. Therefore, along with gas standards identified in the list of the Energy Community Secretariat, the adoption of DVGW codes of good practice was also included. Based on identified priorities, the Road Map and Action Plan for was drafted to support the country s adoption of international and European gas and electricity standards. The implementation of this Road Map will be essential to eliminate existing technical barriers to trade between Azerbaijan and the EU energy markets. Adoption of priority electricity standards will allow users to: connect energy sites to international electricity networks, which is possible only if key requirements for energy sites using electrical products and equipment comply with international safety rules. purchase electrical products and equipment meeting up-to-date electricity standards; ensure maintenance of electrical products and equipment according to European (international) safety rules; Adoption of gas priority standards, which are basic standards used by the European gas industry, will enable PCs to solve a number of common problems. These include: CEN/TC 234 functional standards and DVGW Technical Rules and Codes which will help the countries modernise their gas transmission infrastructure. application of ISO/TC 67 (CEN/TC 12) standards for the development and use of advanced international technologies for off-shore gas infrastructure. The implementation of the fundamental functional standard ISO 13623:2009 Petroleum and natural gas industries Pipeline transportation systems and associated standards will ensure safety in line with the best international practice and improve the efficiency of the off-shore gas operations. reducing gas supply measurement errors (or uncertainty). For fiscal measurements, PCs use a method based on a measuring diagram. It is not a very precise method, which may lead to losses 7

8 for customers. Reducing the uncertainty (error) is possible, but it will require substantial capital expenditures. An alternative is to use gas flow detectors. European standards CEN/ТС237 "Gas meters", and also all standards necessary for their implementation and a basic international standard ISO Measurement of fluid flow in closed conduits - Ultrasonic meters for gas - Part 1: Meters for custody transfer and allocation measurement have been translated. reducing errors related to different reference conditions between Soviet GOSTs 1 and ISO/TC193 standards, which are used in international practice. This problem is essential for Azerbaijan as international oil and gas companies operating in the country use international standards. In the meantime, the national gas pipeline network is based on Soviet GOST standards. When converting from one system to another, there are often systematic errors in the volume of gas recognised. At high volumes of gas transmission this resulting imbalance may have substantial financial implications. introducing the determination of calorific value and other gas qualitative characteristics which is consistent with the EU gas market approach. 2 implementation of CEN/TC 12 and ISO/TC 67 standards which will guarantee the implementation of modern technologies for gas production and simplify the equipment for supply. Currently, large resources are wasted on formal authorisation procedures to use foreign equipment in INOGATE PCs. In order to achieve the successful implementation of the Road Map and Action Plan, first Azerbaijan should: ensure its full membership in the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and determine the mechanisms of interaction with the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC). Currently, Azerbaijan is a member of the IEC s international partner programme and has no official relations with CENELEC; put in place a procedure for the adoption of international, regional and national standards without translating them into the national or Russian language in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 21-1:2005 and ISO/IEC Guide 21-2:2005. Currently, international and regional standards may only be adopted as Azerbaijan's national standards through their translation into the Azeri language; create an optimal structure for Azerbaijan s Technical Committees that will ensure the effective adoption of gas and electricity standards, beginning with the standards from the relevant lists of the Energy Community Secretariat. Currently, Azerbaijan has no Technical Committees for gas and electricity standardisation; Reform the technical regulation system to bring it in line with generally accepted international and European practices. Currently, Azerbaijan has a mixed system of technical regulations in which mandatory and voluntary technical requirements are established together in the same documents labelled standards. 1 GOST (Russian: ГОСТ) refers to a set of technical standards maintained by the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC), a regional standards organization operating under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). 2 This involves switching from gas trade on the basis of volume to trade based on net energy. 8

9 1 Introduction The current gap in standardization systems in Partner Countries (PCs) and the European Union (EU) has resulted in a significant barrier to trade in energy, energy products and infrastructure between these countries. Nevertheless, the INOGATE programme has been aware of this significant barrier and has had a number of specific projects dedicated to improving the capacity of the Partner Countries to gradually harmonise their standardization system with European best practice. The current INOGATE Technical Secretariat project (ITS) has a specific sub-component dedicated to support the countries in this harmonisation process. As a result of these activities, a Road Map and Action Plan have been drafted for each of the Partner Countries. The documents contain a tailored review of the standardisation system for each country and how they compare with European best practice. The Action Plan details the steps each country should take in order to bridge this gap and ensure they are fully harmonised with European standardization practices. In order to understand the standardization context in the region, the document Regional Background to the Road Maps and Action Plans for the harmonisation of standards and codes in electricity and gas sectors for the INOGATE Partner Countries provides a general overview of all Partner Countries. The Road Map and Action Plan for Azerbaijan on harmonisation of standards and codes in the electricity and gas sectors provides an in-depth view of the current state of the standardization system as well as the steps the country has to take to harmonise its system in line with EU practice. 9

10 2 Current standardization situation, expected achievements by 2018 and recommendations The following criteria affect the effectiveness of the adoption processes of the international and European standards by Azerbaijan in gas and electricity sectors: 1. The degree of development of political, trade and economic cooperation with the EU in the gas and electricity sectors; 2. The existing division of technical regulation into a mandatory and voluntary parts (technical regulations and voluntary standards); 3. Conformity of the national system of standardisation with the principles of the European New Approach; 4. Conformity of the national standardisation system with the common international and European principles, including: o independence of standardisation bodies; o planning and implementation of procedures for adoption of national standards; o existence of modern national Technical Committees (TC) for standardisation. 5. The degree of the country s involvement in international and regional standardisation, namely: o the degree of the country s involvement in international standardisation; o the degree of the country s involvement in the European standardisation; o promoting regional cooperation between countries within the Interstate Council for Metrology and Certification (EASC). This chapter will describe the current state of affairs in Azerbaijan for each of these criteria and also the steps the country is recommended to take to support its adoption of European and international standards. 2.1 Development of political, trade and economic cooperation The existence of political, trade and economic agreements between the Partner Countries and the EU plays an important role in the processes of adoption of international and European standards as national standards. In particular, the following agreements and partnerships have the greatest impact on the effectiveness of standards harmonisation process: Partnership and Cooperation Agreement; Agreements on action plans under the European Neighbourhood Policy (Eastern Partnership); Participation in Energy Community Treaty (ECT). Azerbaijan currently enjoys technical and economic cooperation with the EU under the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (the decision to include Azerbaijan in the scope of activity of the European Neighbourhood Policy was taken by the EU at the request of Azerbaijan on 14 June 2004). On the 7 th of November 2006 the EU and the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of energy. The Memorandum, which also defines the mechanisms for mutual cooperation including the INOGATE Programme, aimed to establish the following: energy security and diversification of energy supply of the EU; development of energy infrastructure of Azerbaijan; efficient use of energy; energy saving and use of renewable energy. 10

11 Achievements expected by the country for the period of up to 2018 and recommendations of the ITS Experts. The Memorandum and the related State programmes identify goals for the use of advanced international standards and codes of best practice: 1.4. In terms of development and evolution of the energy sector in Azerbaijan and as laid out in the Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan, the Government of Azerbaijan is undertaking the necessary structural reform of the sector, in accordance with the State Programme for the Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan s State Programme for the Utilisation of Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources 3. The main objective of the State Programmes is the determination of priority development targets in accordance with best practices and standards. To strengthen the energy security of resource extraction and reliability of transit systems from Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea basin to the EU, the parties have agreed: 2.5. Given the importance to Azerbaijan and the EU of the existing oil and gas supply network, and its potential for development and expansion in the future, the parties will work towards a joint cooperation programme in the following areas [ ] e) promote the harmonization of technical norms and standards in Azerbaijan s hydrocarbon sector with EU industrial practices 4. Under this project, Azerbaijan is working to achieve its goals as set out in the Memorandum. It is recommend that Azerbaijan initiates the process to obtain observer status of the ECT. This will improve regional cooperation with its neighbouring countries Georgia and Turkey which have enjoyed observer status for a long time. 2.2 Division of technical regulation into mandatory and voluntary parts The main principle of common international practice in the field of technical regulation is the division of regulatory processes into mandatory and voluntary parts, which applies to both the regulatory documents and those structures that carry out the development and adoption of these documents. With this approach, the mandatory requirements to products and production processes are formulated only in special documents which are technical regulations. The requirements of all other technical documents, including standards, are voluntary. In this case, the state administration bodies only deal with the development and adoption of technical regulations, and the independent public or private officially recognised entities are in charge of the development and adoption of standards. Currently, Azerbaijan has a unique mixed system of technical regulations in which mandatory and voluntary technical requirements are set out together in the same document and are called standards, and their development and adoption follow the same procedure. 3 Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan in the field of Energy. 4 Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan in the field of Energy. 11

12 Achievements expected by the country for the period of up to 2018 and recommendations of the ITS Experts Azerbaijan s strategic goal is to build a technical regulation system based on a division of mandatory and voluntary parts (mandatory technical regulations and voluntary standards). The country intends to reform its technical regulations system, and during the transition period move from mandatory standards to mandatory requirements contained in technical regulations while the application of standards would be voluntary. The deadline for the transition period has not been set but it is assumed that it shall last for at least five years. To implement this objective, the project s experts consider that there is a need for the relevant parties to: finalise the discussion and adoption of the existing draft law on technical regulation; create and approve at government level the list of standards and other regulatory documents that had mandatory technical requirements prior to the adoption of the law on technical regulation. Subsequently, during the transition period this list will be reduced while technical regulations are being adopted; immediately after the adoption of the law on technical regulations, prepare and approve the following plans: - development of technical regulations, including who is responsible for their development, deadlines and funding; - create two independent structures that develop technical regulations and standards, respectively. The first stage of such a division can be undertaken by creating two corresponding equal units within the existing national standardisation body - the State Committee on Metrology and Patents. 2.3 Compliance of the national technical regulation system with the principles of European New Approach In the framework of the European New Approach, the application of mandatory technical regulation is limited to the: definition of mandatory essential requirements. These contain a list of possible hazards and risks associated with the use of specific products; determination of the required level of safety of products and production processes subject to the occurrence of such hazards. The implementation of specific ways to achieve targets (in terms of safety) is left to the discretion of the manufacturer. At the same time, competent authorities are entitled to grant the status of harmonised standards to the set of standards developed by recognised standardisation organisations. The approach of presumption of conformity allows the manufacturer to replace the mandatory verification of product compliance with technical regulations for confirmation of compliance with the requirements of harmonised standards. Currently Azerbaijan does not have technical regulations. Standardisation is carried out on the basis of mandatory standards and therefore all the above-mentioned principles of the European New Approach applicable to technical regulation are not in use in Azerbaijan. 12

13 Achievements expected by the country for the period of up to 2018 The current draft of the law on technical regulations, which is expected to be adopted in Azerbaijan soon, contains a legislative framework for the application of the European New Approach principles in national technical regulations. After the adoption of this law, a programme for the adoption of technical regulations will be developed. It is expected that these new technical regulations will follow the principles of the European New Approach, but will not be equivalent to them as the content and structure will differ. 2.4 Compliance of national standardisation system with the international and European practice As a voluntary process, standards will be in demand by consumers only when the rules and norms set out are acceptable for the majority of the stakeholders, and moreover, the adherence of these rules and norms will bring them significant benefits. A full implementation of the above-listed principles is only possible under the following conditions: fulfilment of the key principle of European standardisation namely, independence of national standardisation bodies both from state administration bodies and from certain industrial or nongovernment organisations; conformity of the procedure of adoption of international and regional standards as national ones to the ISO/IEC 21-1:2005 and ISO/IEC 21-2:2005 Guides, and the existence of a compact procedure of adoption of international and regional standards in the original language (without the translation into Russian or national languages); existence, within national standardisation bodies, of such a specific structure as TC which are assigned to almost all technical functions to ensure the standards development process (including the mandate to adopt draft standards) Independence of standardisation bodies Currently, the State Committee for Metrology and Patents of Azerbaijan acts as the National Standardisation Body (NSB), which is a body of the state administration responsible for standardisation, metrology and patenting. Achievements expected by the country for the period of up to 2018 In 2015 Azerbaijan intends to decide on whether it will reform its standardisation system. As a result of such reform, by 2018 the NSB will no longer be a body of the state administration and will only develop and adopt national standards, as well as dealing with other practical issues connected to the dissemination and application of standards. Technical assistance of the INOGATE Programme For the implementation of the above-mentioned goals, Azerbaijan has requested the following technical assistance: Support to learn from the experience of leading EU National Standardisation Bodies; Identifying the main goals and indicators to achieve and assess a harmonised national standardisation system and conformity assessment system according to the principles of the European New Approach. Currently, no technical assistance by the INOGATE programme to the country is planned in this specific area, however, it is our understanding that it will be provided under the EU project AZ/13/ENP/TR/26 Support for the development of a modern system of standardisation and technical regulations in Azerbaijan, 13

14 component 1 Development of legal and regulatory framework for the quality infrastructure in line with the requirements of the EU and WTO Procedure for the adoption of international and regional standards At present, the adoption of international and regional standards as national standards is regulated by the Presidential Decree 26 dated 22 November 1998 On the procedure of the recognition and enforcement of international (regional) and interstate standards in the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic. This Presidential Decree corresponds to the ISO/IEC Guide 21:1981 but at the moment the national standards are not equivalent to international standards and are considered as not equivalent (NEQ) and not adopted. In Azerbaijan, the adoption of international and regional standards can only be achieved through their translation into Azeri language. Achievements expected by the country for the period of up to 2018 and recommendations of the ITS Experts By 2016, Azerbaijan is expected to have implemented changes in its regulatory documents that enable the adoption of international and regional standards without having to translate them into Azeri or Russian language. In order to implement this goal, ITS Experts recommend Azerbaijan to develop and adopt a national standard that defines the procedure for the adoption of international and regional standards equivalent to ISO/IEC Guide 21-1 and ISO/IEC 21-2 during Technical Committees for standardisation Up until now, Azerbaijan has not had TCs for standardisation in the gas and electricity sectors, although there have been discussions since 2010 about the need to create them. Goals specified by the country for the period of up to 2018 and recommendations of the ITS Experts In 2015, Azerbaijan is planning to set up national TC for the gas (possibly oil and gas) and electricity sectors, and by 2018 establish an effective continuous monitoring mechanism of the activities by the NSB. Technical assistance of the INOGATE Programme For the implementation of the above-mentioned goals Azerbaijan has requested the following technical assistance to provide: an explanation of special aspects of the organisation of international and European TC and provision of relevant training to personnel; an explanation of special features of the management of international and European TC by the standardisation bodies, and provision of relevant training to the personnel; familiarisation with the working procedures of electronic TC (organisation, software characteristics, equipment). Currently, several technical assistance actions are planned to be provided to Azerbaijan in this area: Through the INOGATE Programme: through the implementation of the AHEF assignment 017/070.AZ - Support in the establishment of TC for gas and electricity; Through another EU twinning project AZ/13/ENP/TR/26 Support for the development of a modern system of standardisation and technical regulations in Azerbaijan, component 2 - Establishment of national TC mirroring the European TC and facilitation of their interaction. 14

15 2.5 Participation in international and regional standardisation Participation in international standardisation At present, Azerbaijan, represented by the State Committee for Metrology and Patents, is: a full member of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and participates in 11 ISO TC and one ISO subcommittee, including one technical committee for the gas sector, namely: - ISO/TC 67- Materials, equipment and offshore structures for petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries (O-Member); a member of the Affiliate Country Programme of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Goals specified by the country for the period of up to 2018 and recommendations of the ITS Experts Azerbaijan s strategic goal in this area is to significantly expand the participation and involvement of its national TC for gas and electricity in the work of corresponding international TC. To achieve this goal Azerbaijan intends to undertake the following: in the gas sector: ensure its participation as an observer in 14 out of 18 international ISO TC for gas dealing with the development of priority gas standards by the end of 2018; in the electricity sector: - become an associate member of IEC by 2015; - ensure its participation as an observer in eight out of 29 international IEC TC for electricity dealing with the development of priority electricity standards by the end of Technical assistance of the INOGATE Programme For the implementation of the above-mentioned goals, Azerbaijan has requested technical assistance to provide explanations of the following: the rights, duties and procedures for associate membership in IEC; the rights, duties and procedures of participation in international TC; the day-to-day work and interraction of a national TC with an international TC through a national secretariat. Currently, several technical assistance actions are planned for Azerbaijan in this area: INOGATE through AHEF assignment AHEF017/ 070.AZ Support in the establishment of TC for gas and electricity, and; Another EU twinning project AZ/13/ENP/TR/26 Support for the development of a modern system of standardisation and technical regulations in Azerbaijan, component 2 - Establishment of national TC mirroring the European TC and facilitation of their interaction Participation in European standardisation Currently, Azerbaijan, represented by the State Committee for Metrology and Patents, is an affiliate member of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), but does not participate in the work of its TC. It does not participate in the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC). 15

16 Goals specified by the country for the period of up to 2018 and recommendations of the ITS Experts Azerbaijan s strategic goal is to significantly expand its participation in the work of such European organisations as CEN and CENELEC, and to engage national TC for gas and electricity in the work of corresponding European TC. To achieve these goal Azerbaijan intends to do the following: in the gas sector - ensure its participation as an observer in six out of 17 European TC for gas dealing with the development of priority gas standards at CEN by the end of 2018; In the electricity sector: - become an associate member of CENELEC by 2017; - ensure its participation as an observer in all the European TC at CENELEC for electricity dealing with the development of priority electricity standards by the end of Participation in EASC standardisation First of all, it should be mentioned that the main task of interstate standardisation (EASC) is to harmonise the national standards of participating countries with each other and not with European or international standards. Therefore, using European or international standards as the basis for EASC is only one of the options for the development of interstate standards. Moreover, the EASC is now clearly developing and adopting interstate standards which are planned to be used for the procedures of conformity assessment of products with the requirements of technical regulations of the Customs Union. Although compliance of technical regulations of the Customs Union with the European New Approach principles has been declared as one of the key principles of technical regulation within the Customs Union, the adherence to this principle is not a mandatory requirement, and owing to national peculiarities, it is in fact the case that in almost all technical regulations, there are differences between the regulations under the Customs Union and those addressed in the relevant European Directives and Regulations. The existing discrepancies in the legislation often result in the need to adopt international and European standards which have been heavily modified or become non-equivalent as interstate standards (EASC), or even, in the need to cancel the adoption of some of them. As a result the application of the interstate standardisation mechanism is only advisable if: interstate standards that are being developed are identical to the corresponding European and international analogues; it is possible to adopt interstate standards in Russian as national standards of the Partner Country. At this moment, Azerbaijan, represented by the State Committee for Metrology and Patents, participates in the following interstate TC as an observer: Gas sector ITC Pipes and steel tanks ITC 052 Natural gas ITC Chemical and oil/gas refining equipment ITC Technique and technology of extraction and processing of oil and gas Electricity sector ITC Power transformers ITC 111 Energy saving 16

17 ITC Measuring equipment for electrical and electromagnetic quantities Goals specified by the country for the period of up to 2018 and recommendations of the ITS Experts By 2018 Azerbaijan intends to: enhance its participation in EASC in the electricity sector by means of additional participation in the following interstate TC (EASC) 5 : ITC Apparatus for measuring electric energy and load control; ITC Stationary energy equipment; ITC Rotating electrical machines. transfer the mandate for the interaction with the interstate TC (EASC) to the newly established national TC in the relevant areas; ensure the participation of these national TC in the work of corresponding interstate TC (EASC) as an observer. 5 This TC is only applicable to EASC TC who work on interstate standards 17

18 3 Priority standards identified by the ITS Experts for Azerbaijan As part of the activities of the ITS team in preparation of the development of the Road Maps and Action Plans for the PCs, a polling exercise was carried out to identify priority gas and electricity standards for all PCs. The results showed that PCs selected six areas for adoption of electricity standards and four key gas standards as high priority. More detailed regional information can be found in the document Regional Background to the Road Maps and Action Plans for the harmonisation of standards and codes in electricity and gas sectors for the INOGATE Partner Countries. Below is a more detailed analysis of the standards prioritised by Azerbaijan and their inclusion in the country s National Programme of adoption of these standards. Annexes I, II and III provide further detailed information of the prioritised lists of standards. 3.1 Azerbaijan s National Programme for adoption of priority electricity standards Analysis of the extended list of the ECT s Secretariat standards (319 standards), updated by the ITS project experts at the beginning of 2013, highlighted 38 key standards for Azerbaijan. The ITS Experts considered that the adoption of these standards is of the highest importance. These 38 standards comprise a regional group (23 standards) that are important for all PCs and a national group (15 standards) which are important specifically to Azerbaijan. At the end of 2012, no standards on the list had been adopted by the country. However, in early 2013 the specialists of the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan had selected from the updated list of the ECT s Secretariat 116 electricity standards, which they consider to be highly important for adoption in Azerbaijan, but none of these were adopted. According to the recommendations of specialists from the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, the list of priority standards was increased to 126 standards and the country intends during the period from 2014 to 2016 to adopt the following: in standards, including all 23 standards, defined by ITS Experts as regional priority and 5 standards recommended by the project experts especially for Azerbaijan. in standards, including the remaining 10 standards recommended by the ITS project Experts. in standards. Additionally, it is recommended that from 2014 to 2016 Azerbaijan adopts five additional standards, which are missing from the updated list of the Energy Community Secretariat (319 standards), but which are directly referenced in the listed standards. Table 3.1. List of standards on specification and requirements to electrical equipment which is not listed by the Energy Community Secretariat but recommended for national adoption by Azerbaijan in Reference ТC Title IEC TC 10 Fluids for electro technical applications - Unused mineral insulating oils for transformers and switchgear 2 IEC TC 10 Specification of technical grade sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) for use in electrical equipment 3 IEC TC 10 Mineral insulating oils in electrical equipment - Supervision and maintenance guidance

19 Reference ТC Title IEC TC 10 Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code) 5 IEC TC 10 Degrees of protection provided by enclosures for electrical equipment against external mechanical impacts (IK code) Azerbaijan National Programme for the adoption of priority gas standards Before 2013, only one standard out of the list of priority standards (132 standards) had been adopted as a national standard. In line with Azerbaijani legislation, interstate (EASC) standards are automatically enforced in the country from the date of the official receipt by the NSB of the texts of the standards. Hence, all 12 interstate standards identical to the international and European ones developed with the INOGATE assistance have been implemented. From 2014 to 2016 Azerbaijan plansned to adopt the following standards: in standards that were translated within the framework of previous INOGATE project, passed EASC approval stage and currently have a final revision status; in standards that were translated by previous INOGATE project (8 out of these 21 standards were reviewed by EASC and have a first edition status); in standards that were translated within the framework of previous INOGATE project. By the end of 2016, Azerbaijan will have adopted 64 priority gas standards. The remaining 68 standards are planned to be adopted over Procedure for the adoption of Codes of Practice Currently, Azerbaijan has no legislative framework for the use of codes of good practices, nor has it adopted the key European functional standards of TС 234. Nevertheless, following the establishment of the national gas committee and the adoption of the new legislation, it would be feasible to build upon the initial agreement reached during the study tour to DVGW in April 2014 by - through ITS activities - obtaining the rights to use the technical rules of this German association. Annex III contains the technical rules of DVGW, which are recommended to be implement in Azerbaijan. 19

20 4 Action Plan This Action Plan provides support and clear guidance to Azerbaijan s effort to harmonise its standardisation system with EU best practice. It was prepared taking into account the current status of Azerbaijan s standardisation system and the requirements for it to be in line with the ECT and European practice, based on the Road Map. The Action Plan provides a number of key steps Azerbaijan must take in the short term (until 2018) to begin the harmonisation process. Once they complete this phase, the country should identify its next objectives and the subsequent actions need to continue with the harmonisation process. Below is a list of key actions and a timeline in order to ensure the process is undertaken in a balanced way. 4.1 Key areas and stages of activities to ensure effective adoption of international and European electricity and gas standards by Azerbaijan As described in Section 2: Current standardization situation, goals for 2018 and recommendations, it is important for Azerbaijan to adhere to EU New Approach Directives which are part of their Eastern Partnership Agreement with the European Union, as well as undertake EU best practice specifically in standardisation wherever possible Level of development of political, trade and economic cooperation Activities Responsible entity and form of deliverables Timeframe 1 Study the Treaty establishing the Energy Community Ministry of Energy Develop national policy and a strategy for accession to the Treaty 3 Initiate the procedure of obtaining observer status in the ECT Ministry of Energy Ministry of Energy Splitting of Technical Regulations into Mandatory and Voluntary Parts Activities Responsible entity and form of deliverables Timeframe 1 Finalise discussions and adopt a framework law on technical regulation, splitting the technical regulation system into mandatory and voluntary parts (mandatory technical regulations and voluntary standards: document types, rules and procedures for their development, adoption and withdrawal) 2 Prepare and approve a list of standards and other regulatory documents, the technical requirements of which will remain mandatory during a transition period (until the relevant technical regulation is adopted) Relevant Parliamentary committee, law drafters, State Committee for Metrology and Patents, adoption of Law State Committee for Metrology and Patents, List of standards

21 4.1.3 Compliance of the national system of technical regulations with the principles of the EU New Approach Activities Responsible entity and form of deliverables Timeframe 1 Adopt draft national technical regulations harmonised with EU Directives State Committee for Metrology and Patents Develop methods and procedures for producing lists of standards which are harmonised with newly adopted technical regulations, as well as the rules and procedures for their updating State Committee for Patents Compliance of the national standardisation system with the generally accepted international and European principles Activities Responsible entity and form of deliverables Timeframe 1 Draw up a national standard setting the procedure for adoption of international, regional and foreign standards in Azerbaijan in line with the ISO/IEC Guides 211:2005 and 21-2:2005 State Committee for Metrology and Patents Formulate the development strategy for the system of national gas and electricity TC for standardisation State Committee for Metrology and Patents 3 Establish a Gas TC State Committee for Metrology and Patents, Ministry of Energy, SOCAR, ITS Project, subject to approval by the EC (AHEF017/070) 4 Establish an Electricity TC State Committee for Metrology and Patents, Ministry of Energy, SOCAR, ITS Project, subject to approval by the EC (AHEF017/070) 5 Introduce best practices from among the National Standardisation Bodies (NSBs) of leading EU countries on regular monitoring of and support to the functioning of TC State Committee for Metrology and Patents, National Gas and Electricity TCs, ITS Project, subject to

22 approval by the EC (AHEF017/070) 6 Develop a database of Azerbaijani standards State Committee for Metrology and Patents, EU twinning project AZ/13/ENP/TR/26 - Support of development of the standardisation and technical regulation system, Component Study visit for four Azerbaijani TC members representing newly established Gas and Electricity TC to Europe in order to participate as observers in one meeting of a European Technical Committee operating in gas or electricity standardisation, subject to availability of funding and EU approval State Committee for Metrology and Patents, Ministry of Energy, ITS Project, subject to approval by the EC Country's participation in international, European and interstate standardisation Activities Contractor and rendition form Timeframe 1 Join the International Electricity Committee (IEC) as an associate member 2 Join the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC) as an affiliate member 3 Develop the rules and procedures for work of the national TC with international and European TC 4 Enhance the participation of Azerbaijan in interstate standardisation on electricity by joining the following interstate TC as an observer: ITC Power measuring and load control devices ITC Stationary Energy Equipment ITC Rotating Electrical Machinery State Committee for Metrology and Patents State Committee for Metrology and Patents State Committee for Metrology and Patents, Guidance document State Committee for Metrology and Patents

23 4.2 Adoption and introduction of gas and electricity standards In particular, relating to gas and electricity standards, the list of actions (below) will support Azerbaijan in adopting the 319 electricity standards and 132 gas standards of the lists prepared by the ITS experts Adoption of electricity standards having high regional priority Activities Responsible entity and form of deliverables Timeframe 1 Translate standards recommended by the ITS Project into Russian and transfer these with licences of translated draft 2 Organise or participate in a regional seminar on specifics of implementing and using electricity standards recommended by project 3 Adopt recommended electricity standards by cover page method with an information annex containing Russian translation of standard. ITS Project, subject to EC approval, licence, translations of standards ITS Project, subject to EC approval, State Committee for Metrology and Patents, published standards Adoption of priority electricity standards in Azerbaijan Activities Responsible entity and form of deliverables Timeframe 1 Implement the National Standardisation Plan for 2014 to the extent possible concerning the adoption of generally accepted electricity standards of the Treaty establishing the Energy Community (refer to the Road Map, Annex III) 2 Prepare and approve the National Standardisation Plan for 2015 to the extent possible concerning the adoption of generally accepted electricity standards of the Treaty establishing the Energy Community 3 Implement the National Standardisation Plan for 2015 to the extent possible concerning the adoption of generally accepted electricity standards of the Treaty establishing the Energy Community (refer to the Road Map (Annex I) 4 Prepare and approve the National Standardisation Plan for 2016 to the extent possible concerning the adoption of generally accepted electricity standards of the Treaty establishing the Energy Community State Committee for Metrology and Patents, adopted standards State Committee for Metrology and Patents, approved Standardisation Plan State Committee for Metrology and Patents, adopted standards Electricity TC, State Committee for Metrology and Patents, approved

24 Standardisation Plan Adoption of priority gas standards in Azerbaijan Activities Responsible entity and form of deliverables Timeframe 1 Organise the transfer from the EASC to Azerbaijan of the 12 interstate standards prepared with the assistance of the INOGATE Programme ITS Project Organise the transfer to Azerbaijan of the 100 international and European oil and gas standards, translated with the assistance of the INOGATE Programme 3 Implement the 12 interstate gas standards prepared with the assistance of the INOGATE Programme 4 Implement the Standardisation Plan for 2014 as regards the adoption of generally accepted gas standards of the ECT (please refer to the Road Map, Annex II) 5 Select gas standards to be adopted by cover page method with an information Annex containing Russian translation of standards 6 Update the list of existing gas standards, with available translations to the most current versions of those standards. Arrange translation of latest versions of selected standards and their transfer to Azerbaijan 7 Prepare and approve the National Standardisation Plan for 2015 as regards the adoption of generally accepted gas standards of the ECT. 8 Adopt finalised gas standards by the cover page method with the text in Russian serving as a reference annex. 9 Participate in the Tbilisi "Gas infrastructure and EN 1594" seminar (GE 118). ITS Project, translations of the standards State Committee for Metrology and Patents State Committee for Metrology and Patents, adopted standards Gas and Electricity TCs, State Committee for Metrology and Patents ITS Project, Gas and Electricity TCs, State Committee for Metrology and Patents State Committee for Metrology and Patents, approved Standardisation Plan Gas TC, State Committee for Metrology and Patents, adopted standards ITS Project, Gas TC, Ministry of Industry and Energy, subject to EC approval