Regulation of quality of supply - Quality dependent revenue caps (CENS)
The CENS arrangement (also known by the Norwegian acronym “KILE”) incorporates energy not supplied as a result of both announced and unannounced short (< 3 min.) and extended (> 3 min) interruptions resulting from planned outages and operational disruptions in electrical installations carrying voltages in excess of 1 kV.
This CENS-related figure is an expression of the total costs to the Norwegian economy incurred by end users in the event of interruptions. They represent a quality-based cap on the distributor's revenues and constitute an instrument which enables the companies to construct, operate, and maintain the grid in a manner which maximises the benefits to the national economy. On a national basis, the costs linked to interruptions and voltage disruptions are significant (approx. NOK 1.2 million) compared with other costs related to grid operations. The distribution grid accounts for three quarters of the total amount.
The core component of the administration of the CENS arrangement is FASIT – a standardised system for the logging of failures and interruptions in the power system. All distributors have a duty to employ the prevailing FASIT requirement specifications as the starting point for the logging of interruptions.
