Turning OPCOM into a single operator of centralized wholesale gas and electricity markets would be a mistake because nothing good comes out of the Romanians’ bills from a politically controlled monopoly, says Andreea Paul, president of INACO – Initiative For Competitiveness. “Transforming OPCOM into a single operator of centralized wholesale gas and electricity markets, as the current parliamentary majority wants, would be a mistake, unrelated to good European practices and without taking into account the direct interests of the Romanians’ pockets. We already know that nothing good comes out of the Romanians’ bills from a politically controlled monopoly,” says Andreea Paul in a statement released to Agerpres.
She underlines that an important change in law is “undergoing” to the vote of parliamentarians, given the deadline of 15 September 2017 of the final report (after its resubmitting to the Committee of Industries at the end of the previous parliamentary session, i.e. the draft law 110 / 2017 for the adoption of GEO No. 64/2016, which supplements the Law on Electricity and Natural Gas No. 123/2012. “The order was necessary because of an EU infringement that Romania had to deal with following the badly legislated legislation. The problem is that the law adopting this ordinance intentionally shed dangerous amendments aimed at deforming the gas market in Romania, (…) What astonishes me is that no one has publicly signaled the lies from the argumentation of the most dangerous amendment of the 20 amendments admitted to the bill Plx 110/2017, which would lead to the legalization of the first monopolization of a field of activity in Romania that is currently open to competition – currently with two operators licensed by ANRE: BRM – the Romanian Commodities Exchange, with majority private capital, and OPCOM – Transelectrica, with majority state-owned capital,” says Paul.
She explains that the amendment states that “in article 119, point 3, letter e) shall be modified and shall have the following content: e) centralized wholesale market management – shall be performed by the Operator of the Electricity and Natural Gas Market “OPCOM “- SA, hereinafter referred to as “OPCOM” as the operator of centralized wholesale gas markets, according to ANRE regulations “. According to INACO President, if this amendment is voted, the transactions carried out at BRM (67% of the total gas market) will be nationalized.
Andreea Paul points out that the overwhelming majority of European countries have more market operators, some of which have more virtual trading points (PVTs – two or three). Specifically, France has 7 market operators, of which 3 PVTs. Germany has 7 market operators, of which 2 PVTs, England has 7 market operators of which 1 PVT, Spain has 5 market operators, of which 2 PVT, The Netherlands has 5 market operators of which 1 PVT. “The INACO Think-tank – the Competitiveness Initiative, calls publicly to stop disinformation in the parliamentary specialty committees, professional studies should be made of opportunity and feasibility to any legislative change, fairly founded, in accordance with the interests of the Romanians and good European proven practices. Favoring state capital against the private one is uncompetitive and anti-competitive, in contradiction with European practice,” the press release said.
According to the cited source, the activity of a market operator is not in any developed and democratic country managed by a company owned, directly or indirectly, by the state and in no European country is a monopoly introduced by law by attributing this activity to a single operator market. “By competition, the lowering of the operating price, but also the exclusion of the suspicion of political or group interference in the sensitive field of price formation and contract award are assured. All the more important in a strategic and vital public domain as it is the gas market,” adds Andreea Paul.