Extend the experimentation and simulations in progress on the ecological flow to all hydroelectric plants, that is, also to the control units. This is the request that the Provincial Authority addresses to the District Basin Authority, also in order to obtain a derogation from the entry into force of the legislation that imposes the ecological flow. To raise the concerns of the operators of the switchboards was a letter from the offices of the Province, sent in July, in which they remembered the deadlines and the prescriptions dictated by the law. But in the intentions of the Province there is no application tout court and indeed, the institution of Palazzo Piloni is convinced that it is necessary to investigate more thoroughly to understand what will happen with the new parameters, in terms of hydroelectric energy production, as well as that of benefits for water bodies and lakes.
The experimentation has already started at the regional level, with an agreement wanted by the councilor Gianpaolo Batticin, between the Veneto Region, the District Basin Authority, the Arpav, the Regional Association of Irrigation Consortia and the Enel Green Power Company and precisely this convention allows the gradualness and derogation in the application of the rule. The region’s (and Enel Green Power’s) fear is that the ecological runoff will lead to an excessive socio-economic burden compared to a limited environmental benefit for the waterways, as well as evident damage to the lakes that would be emptied. The Basin Authority has granted to extend the times, precisely by virtue of the ongoing experimentation, provided, however, that in the meantime all the necessary measures are also put in place to prevent water from being wasted, for example by the Consortia irrigate.
By virtue of its autonomy in the matter of state-owned water, however, the Province of Belluno could decide to impose equally the respect of the ecological flow starting from January 1st, a step that instead aims to derogate, hooking the experimentation also to small hydroelectric energy producers .
“The energy crisis has attracted attention to an issue that is very much felt for the Belluno area”, underlines the managing director, Simone Deola. “The fact that the ecological runoff may lead to less electricity production – which has yet to be demonstrated at the moment – may cause legitimate concerns. Precisely for this reason, the Province has asked to extend the Enel experimentation in progress to all branches with the temporary suspension of obligations, pending field testing of the method of calculating the outflow introduced by the hydrographic district authority. Experimentation that allows you to act in derogation from the deadline of January 1, 2023 and which today only affects Enel plants. The enlargement of the effects of the experimentation would allow a time extension useful above all for small stations owned by the Municipalities, which we know are important for municipal budgets and for services to local communities ».
«The adaptation to the release of ecological runoff, which sees us in favor as an administration for the protection of the quality of our water bodies», adds the president, Roberto Padrin, «is a matter deriving from European and state legislation. Linked to this issue is also the need for greater attention on the part of irrigation consortia, with investments in the network, to limit upstream withdrawals and preserve the quality as well as the quantity of the water resource ».i.a.