On December 4th, the energy community in Romania celebrated the results of the industry at the 7th edition of the Energynomics Awards! At the opening of the Gala, Zoltan Nagy-Bege, vice-president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority – ANRE, presented to the over 150 industry leaders present at the ceremony the 6 top priorities for the Authority in 2020. (The titles were added by the energynomics.ro team.)

“This is a special evening for all those awarded and nominated for the Energynomics Awards. For each of them, this must be fuel for the future, a confirmation that what they do they are doing very well. In a few words, I will mention the top priorities for ANRE in 2020.

I have noted six priorities and I will start with the most important one, from my point of view – a liberalized and functional electricity and natural gas market.

1. Free market

I regret that for 2020 this is still a priority, because it means that this important target has not been reached. The fact that it is a priority for us is a regret for me, but I hope it will be a good signal for you. We hope to start 2020 with a repealed GEO 114 and, as the minister said, with approved transitional measures, which can be implemented as soon as possible.

As a regulatory authority in the field of energy, we are prepared to implement any transitional measures that will follow this repeal of GEO 114, both in the field of electricity and in that of natural gas. We are ready to prepare the market for complete liberalization, both on the wholesale market and on the retail segment.

2. Increased competition

Another priority for us in 2020 is to increase competition in the energy market, for the benefit of consumers, in particular. In the application of Regulation 943/2019 on the EU internal market of electricity we are forced to return to market rules that refer to the balancing market, the intraday electricity market and the day-ahead market, as well as rules regarding the capacity allocation. First of all, these rules affect the freely formation of prices in the wholesale markets. Last but not least, we are talking about the possibility of freely entering into long-term contracts.

It is obvious to me, but also to you, that this Regulation 943 cannot fully apply from the first day of 2020, but we are prepared to implement absolutely all the provisions of the Regulation, as soon as possible. I am convinced that this Regulation and its application will be steps forward towards more intense competition in the Romanian electricity market, for the benefit of all market participants.

3. More investments

I would like that during 2020 the two energy national transporters, Transgaz and Transelectrica, will increase their investments in interconnection capacities, in order to diversify the sources of power, respectively of natural gas supply. At the same time, we are closely monitoring the distribution operators in power and natural gas sectors, in order for them fulfill their obligations assumed by the investment programs.

4. Transpose the provisions of the Clean Energy package for all Europeans

In the field of energy efficiency, a priority for 2020 is the transposition of the three provisions in the Clean Energy package for all Europeans, which have a transposition deadline by 2020. I am referring to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the Renewable Sources Directive, and the Energy Efficiency Directive, respectively. The experts from ANRE are actively involved in the inter-ministerial working groups for the elaboration of the laws to transpose these directives and I hope that the new laws will help Romania in meeting the targets for 2030 on both renewables and energy efficiency.

5. Withdrawal of licenses for inactive production capacities

Lately, on many occasions, the president [of ANRE, Dumitru] Chiriță has already announced that it was important for us to send the correct signals for the market. In this regard, we will continue the analysis regarding the electricity licenses issued by the Authority. We are analyzing the power generation units that are inactive, which have not worked for years, and we will continue to withdraw these licenses. It is not normal to have a production capacity of 24,000 MW, in theory, and when we have to cover consumption at 7-8,000 MW, not to be able to start some of those production capacity.

This is not meant to punish anyone! For these companies it is simply a return to normality. I sincerely hope that these measures will offer a right signal for those who want to invest in Romania, a true signal in respect to the functional installed capacities in Romania, in relation to the electricity demand.

6. Transparency and dialogue

And last but not least, of course – transparency. We will continue to try our best to be open, as we have done at least for the last two years since I have been vice-president of the Authority. In elaborating the regulations proposed by ANRE, we intend to involve all the market actors, we want to consult with all those impacted by the regulations we impose and we will be open to any dialogue that benefits the energy market.”