Electricity suppliers insist on legislative stability and predictability for the interest of the energy business and the whole economy.
„Since GEO 114 appeared in December 2018, we are in a harmful context to all energy businesses. There is an urgent need for predictability and stability in primary legislation as well as in secondary regulations, so that market participants can continue to operate under normal conditions. The new version, with amendments, of GEO 114/2018 has to pass quickly through the Parliament, „the officials of the Association of Electric Power Suppliers in Romania – AFEER.
Romania, along with other EU Member States, has clear obligations to transpose European rules into national law. „There are many legislative changes at European level and therefore, the specific changes in Romania need to be clarified quickly,” says Ion Lungu, President of AFEER.
„For the Romanian energy sector, legislative changes have been many, important and not yet over. We do not yet have the final form of GEO 114. New regulations issued by ANRE are likely to follow. It is true that, compared to the first variation of the ordinance, important adjustments were made, „Lungu said, adding that the Association is an active part of all the changes in the primary and secondary legislation. „I participated in the discussions with the representatives of the Authority, we delivered our opinions, we showed the influences, the implications, the limits. The decision is, of course, regulator’s.”
AFEER highlights some aspects of GEO 114/2018, namely increasing the contribution to ANRE 20 times, from 0.1% to 2% of the turnover of the companies in the sector and the fact that it was decided to be established by law, not by ANRE. The representatives of AFEER appreciate that ANRE has admitted that the amount is too high and that it does not need this money, a point highlighted by the members of the Association from the beginning in their interventions.
On the other hand, AFEER appreciates how ANRE understood the provisions of OUG 114/2018 regarding the applicability of the 2% cash contribution to the turnover related to the supply activity, in order to avoid cascading it into the final customer’s bill.
The second point outlined by AFEER refers to the regulation of the price for households for a period of 3 years. „ANRE has had the right approach by accrediting a large number of optional Last resort Suppliers, allowing them to retain their customer portfolio. However, it is surprising for us this decision to reintroduce the regulated market, as there were no signs of irregularities in the market. No ANRE or Competition Council reports have shown distortions or other concerns. The free market was working properly. On the other hand, since the middle of last year, there have been price increases in the wholesale market, which has probably worried the authorities, causing them to return to regulated prices. But, in our opinion, the right measure was to define vulnerable consumers and to provide protection measures only for people in need of protection,” Lungu says.
„In the new legislative context, there will be suppliers who will give up their household customers and who will probably disappear from this market. Certainly, however, energy providers will be even more interested in providing complex packages and additional services to customers. It should be noted that there are still many actions promoting the free market for households, which shows the viability of the market. It is possible for the market to evolve, to offer better prices on the free market than on the regulated market. Indeed, energy suppliers are obliged to offer regulated prices for 3 years, but household consumers can choose either to remain in the free market or to switch to the regulated market. It is consumers’ right to choose. Our recommendation is that, before choosing, consumers should be informed and careful about what they are offered,” concludes Lungu.