Background information

The goal of the investment is to support the electrification and decarbonization of the energy sector by upgrading and digitalizing the Croatian transmission power grid. The investment will enable the creation of new capacities for the production of energy from renewable sources, a better connection of the south-north network and the connection of six islands with the land network in order to use their potential for the production of energy from renewable sources and ensure the supply of such electricity from the south of Croatia, where can place the most renewable sources of electricity in the north of Croatia, where the most energy is consumed. The investment contributes to the ten-year network development plan with an emphasis on the most important elements necessary to ensure the stability of the system and create preconditions for the development of capacity for energy from renewable sources.

Content of measure

The object of the investment is to accelerate the development of the network until 2026 in such a way that the existing electricity transmission system is revitalized and digitalized due to the increase in transmission capacity (especially the north-south lines), and in parallel, new transmission capacities are added. This will ensure the uninterrupted download of electricity into the system, which will cease to be a bottleneck, which will ensure a stronger decarbonization of the energy sector. The investment plans to modernize and digitize and expand the electric power transmission system, which will accept the increasing amount of electricity from renewable sources in the most efficient and stable manner at the level of Croatia. The implementation of the investment in question will contribute to the decarbonization of the energy sector, which is a basic prerequisite for reaching the goals for 2030 regarding the share of renewable energy sources in gross direct consumption of 36.6%. The amount of the total grants is HRK 1,643 Million (€218.19 million). Only potential eligible Project Applicant is the Croatian Transmission System Operator, in accordance with the Act on Energy and the Electricity Market Act.

Use of measure

The investment is fully in accordance with “Ten-Year Development Plan of the Croatian Transmission Network 2022-2031”. The strategic guidelines in the mentioned Plan are based on ensuring the long-term ability of the system to meet the expected needs for electricity transmission, and a secure, reliable and efficient transmission system, taking into account environmental protection. One of the mail tasks is to create preconditions for a green energy transition that will enable lower carbon emissions and accelerate the low-carbon development.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Companies providing essential services Larger corporations	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	European Funds National Recovery and Resilience Facility

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement as case not in social partner domain	No involvement as case not in social partner domain
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Due to the nature of the measure, social partners were not included.

Views and reactions

Social partners in Croatia fully support all measures directed towards the transition to green and/or digital economy. This was particularly obvious on the conference held on 8-9 March 2022, whose topic was the Green Deal and energy transition in Europe. The main questions were how ready are Croatian energy companies for the transformation within the framework of the Green Deal Plan and what is the role of social partners, particularly trade unions, in the transformation process. Trade unions fully support mentioned Plan and are aware that the experiences of Western colleagues can help them to comprehend the transition in the energy sector and the need for them to change and modernize their activities. The conference was also attended by representatives from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and the Croatian Association of Employers, who each presented their point of view regarding activities of transition to green energy production.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 10 March 2022: Socijalni partneri o Zelenom planu (Social partners on the Green Deal) (www.ekn.hr)
• 12 July 2022: Revitalizacija, izgradnja, digitalizacija i modernizacija Hrvatske prijenosne elektroenergetske mreže The grant for revitalization, construction, digitization and modernization of the Croatian transmission power grid) (fondovieu.gov.hr)