The elimination of the technical connection approval (ATR) will reduce bureaucracy and contribute to speeding up the implementation of energy projects, but it will also have beneficial consequences for energy consumers, said the president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority, George Niculescu, in a press conference on Thursday.
“I want to talk today about the announcement I made last week regarding the elimination of the technical connection approval (ATR) and I will try to give more details regarding the advantages of this measure in terms of reducing bureaucracy and speeding up the implementation of energy projects. (…) This elimination of the ATR will also have beneficial consequences from our point of view on energy consumers. Obviously, this elimination is an important step, it is a major decision that the authority is going to take,” said Niculescu.
He stated that he had discussions with technical specialists from the authority “for a long time”, the decision being analyzed on all sides, and also, a public consultation process will begin on this subject.
“Our opinion is that, in addition to the fact that it is a measure to reduce bureaucracy, I believe it is a step forward. By practically eliminating the ATR after approving the solution study, we move directly to the connection contract, which will be presented to the applicant based on the solution that was approved by the Technical and Economic Commission of the network operator, distribution or transport operator. We are not the first country that will not have this technical connection opinion, so it is not a premiere at European level, but we want to facilitate the implementation of energy projects and help energy consumers”, pointed out the ANRE president.
He announced on April 1, during a debate on energy issues, that the Authority was analyzing a new amendment to the Grid Connection Regulation, to eliminate the Technical Connection Approval, according to Financialintelligence.
“We want to have access to the network under the easiest possible conditions and that is why I want to make an announcement, because we have just started this series of reducing bureaucracy at the Regulatory Authority level. I want to tell you that we are considering, it was proposed to us by our colleagues in the authority, a new amendment to the connection regulation in the sense of eliminating the ATR. It is a proposal that I have on the table. It is something that we are still reflecting on. I allow myself to announce it publicly today. Obviously, we will go through absolutely all the legal procedures for decision-making transparency if internally we consider this decision to be feasible and that we achieve the desired outcome: reducing bureaucracy, shorter deadlines and ultimately easier access to the network for both consumers and producers, in general for all network users”, announced George Niculescu.