The Premier Energy company has several renewable energy generation projects underway in the Republic of Moldova, as well as an investment in a power plant with a power of 40-60 MW needed to balance the system. Investors are still waiting for the authorities in Chisinau to introduce a stimulative regulatory framework.
“A regulatory framework is needed to attract investors […] , and clarity, on the terms for recovery of the investment, too”, said Tatiana Gotișan, Director of Regulations, Tariffs and Energy Purchasing in Premier Energy Distribution, during the “Regional Approach Chișinău” conference organized by Energynomics.
Premier Energy has several photovoltaic and wind projects underway in the country, including a 6 MW plant, currently the largest in the country.
One of the difficulties in obtaining the authorizations necessary to build the balancing plant is represented by a limitation in the current legislation, which stipulates that such an investment, if it exceeds the capacity of 20 MW, needs to be approved by a government decision. Premier Energy has started to develop the feasibility study and business plan for this investment, but is waiting for a series of clarifications from the government such as the stand-by price of energy or the tariffs for dispatch.
Another impediment is represented by the need to develop the mechanisms for the functioning of the markets, given that for now there is no intra-day trading market in the country, nor a day-ahead market platform, nor for the balancing market. At the same time, the national energy market must be integrated with the markets of neighboring states, because currently the price differences are large.
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“Tenders must be launched for high-capacity renewable energy projects that will pave the way for new investments. We proposed that the issuance of the connection notices be done against cost. Now they are free, and because of this the granting of these approvals is blocked by some people who have made a business out of it. We need to avoid this and find levers to change this. We also agree with the support given to vulnerable energy consumers, but stricter filters must be introduced regarding the beneficiaries”, Gotișan also said.
The company, part of a Czech group that owns several companies in the Republic of Moldova, had a net profit of 392 million Moldovan lei in 2022, an increase of over 35% compared to the level of 289 million Moldovan lei in 2021. In the same range, sales revenues increased by over 27%, to 1.4 billion Moldovan lei, from 1.1 billion Moldovan lei in 2021.
The conference “Regional Approach Chișinău” was organized by Energynomics with the support of our partners Huawei, Siemens Energy, Transgaz.