For next year, the Ministry of Energy proposes a mandatory renewable energy share of 12.15% of gross final consumption of electricity, according to a government decision draft prepared by the Ministry.

The impact of green certificates in the electricity bill of end-users will be about 35 lei/MWh; if one takes into account the exemption agreements issued so far and to ones estimated to be granted until the end of 2016, the impact in the bill will be up to about 43 lei/MWh, stresses the background note of the draft.

This impact will be felt especially by households and SMEs, given that the exemptions are given to large industrial customers based on an energy-intensity index. Ministry of Energy claims that this new mandatory quota will lead to the trading of about 60% of green certificates issued for the energy delivered.

By the end of August 2015 were issued 27 exemption agreements associated with a quantity of 6,000 GWh electricity, and by the end of the year the exemptions could reach 8,000 GWh.

“Maintaining affordability for the promotion scheme for energy from renewable sources at end users is difficult to implement given the issuance of agreements for exemption in 2015, their pressure being transferred to final consumers not exempted, namely population and SMEs”, shows the background note.